[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3133-3134]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING UFCW INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT JOSEPH T. HANSEN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 10, 2010

  Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, Joseph T. Hansen is leading the 
transformation of the UFCW into a dynamic, growth-focused organization 
poised to unite the millions of North American workers who want and 
need a union. After four decades of union activism, Joe's mission is 
essentially the same as it was when he began his career: organizing 
workers for power and uniting them at the bargaining table to win 
middle class wages, benefits, and respect on the job.

[[Page 3134]]

  Today, Hansen stands at the helm of the broad-based worker movement 
to win respect for work and those who do the work. Joe is an effective 
voice for working people, advocating for affordable, quality health 
care for all; for comprehensive and humane immigration reform; and for 
the millions of working people who want a voice on the job. He is 
helping revitalize the labor movement to meet the challenges of the 
global economy--by delivering union jobs that provide wages that pay 
the bills, retirement security, and affordable health care. His 
leadership is bringing new hope and opportunity for workers and their 
families to improve their living standards and live a middle class 
life.
  Joe began his career as a meat cutter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Since 
that time, Hansen has been activating and empowering members. He spent 
more than 11 years working at his trade while serving as a volunteer 
organizer for his local union--Local 73 of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters 
and Butcher Workmen of North America. His activism helped keep 
Milwaukee a union town, where new grocery stores were quickly met with 
organizing activity. His passion for organizing led Hansen to become 
one of the youngest members of his local union's executive board. 
Hansen was elected to serve as International Secretary-Treasurer in 
1997 and International President in 2004.
  Hansen has been active in the global union movement since 1994. His 
early experience with global unionism provided him with the foresight 
to realize that only global solidarity can confront global 
corporations. He took office as president of Union Network 
International (UNI), an international labor organization representing 
15 million workers in 900 unions in more than 100 countries, in 2003. 
He was reelected president at its second World Congress in Chicago in 
2005.
  In the United States, lawmakers and opinion leaders seek his 
perspective and leadership on two of the most important challenges 
facing American workers in the 21st century--health care and 
immigration reform. In 2005, the U.S. Congress named Hansen to the 14-
member Citizens' Health Care Working Group. The panel did 
groundbreaking work to bring the American people together to confront 
the health care crisis and facilitated the direct communication of 
their views and concerns to lawmakers. His leadership on the panel 
established Hansen as a key leader and trusted advisor to Congress and 
the Obama administration on the primary health care issues facing 
working families and the elements of comprehensive health care reform.
  Hansen is the Founding National Chair of the National Commission on 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Misconduct and Violations of 
4th Amendment Rights. The commission examined ICE misconduct during the 
Bush administration's workplace raids. It presented the findings to the 
American people in a report that documents the terrible costs and human 
suffering caused by ICE misconduct and outlined key elements of needed 
immigration policy reforms.
  Hansen is a founding architect of the Change to Win Federation that 
has set a new course for the labor movement. Recognizing that industry-
wide organizing is the best way to give workers the power to raise 
working and living standards, Hansen is leading the UFCW through a 
dramatic shift in priorities as more staff and resources than ever 
before are dedicated to uniting workers and bringing them under a union 
contract.
  At the core of Hansen's leadership is the spirit and exuberance that 
he demonstrated as a young volunteer organizer and activist. He knows 
that activated members can organize, that they can build their union, 
and that they can confront corporate power and win. After all, Hansen 
did all of those things as a rank-and-file member--today he is 
activating and leading a new generation of workers and building a 21st 
century union.

                          ____________________