[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8278]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THOMAS N. LESCH FOR 40 YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 2, 2003

  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, today I announce the retirement of a great 
friend of labor, Tom Lesch. Over the years, the machinists of Wisconsin 
have had no greater an advocate than Tom. For four decades, he has ably 
served in one capacity or another as a committed member and leader of 
Local Lodge 2110 of the International Association of Machinists and 
Aerospace Workers (IAMAW).
  Mr. Lesch started his union career as Local Lodge President, 
Recording Secretary, and Shop Committee Chair representing workers at 
Geuder, Paschke and Frey. In 1976, he became a Business Representative 
with District 10 of IAMAW, AFL-CIO, and he was named Assistant Director 
in 1981, rising to Director in 1994.
  In addition to Tom's active involvement in Local 2110, he holds the 
distinction of having been a leader at all levels of the labor 
movement. Tom has been the stalwart head of the union's state 
organization for over two decades. He is currently the President of the 
Wisconsin State Council of Machinists, a position he has held since 
1982. Prior to that, he served as Financial Secretary to the Council. 
Active at the county level as well, he served on the Milwaukee County 
Labor Council Board for 13 years until leaving in 1994. And even with 
all he has been doing these days, Tom has also taken up the cause for 
workers across the nation, maintaining a position on the AFL-CIO 
Executive Board and Executive Committee.
  Tom has served on the boards of many other worthy community and labor 
organizations over the years, including the Red Cross, the United Way 
Labor Cabinet, Guide Dogs of America, and the Wisconsin Labor-
Management Council, just to name a few. But most recently, he has been 
the driving force behind a broad labor-management effort to come up 
with possible solutions to the critical problem of rising healthcare 
costs in our state. His personal involvement in spearheading this 
initiative can, in large part, be credited for the productive dialogue 
and progress they've made.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join with me in thanking Tom Lesch for his 
tenacity and willingness to hold out for the rights and living 
standards of the people he represented. His leadership was felt by all, 
and has left its mark on the ongoing struggle for the cause of working 
men and women. Along with the International Association of Machinists 
and Aerospace Workers and the entire Wisconsin labor community, I wish 
him a long, healthful, and well-deserved retirement.

                          ____________________