[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11648]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




A TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF THE RETIREMENT OF MIKE GARCIA, PRESIDENT OF SEIU 
                      UNITED SERVICE WORKERS WEST

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 9, 2014

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise with my colleagues, Congresswoman 
Karen Bass, Congressman Xavier Becerra, Congressman Ami Bera, 
Congresswoman Julia Brownley, Congresswoman Lois Capps, Congressman 
Tony Cardenas, Congressman Jim Costa, Congresswoman Susan Davis, 
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Congressman Sam Farr, Congressman John 
Garamendi, Congresswoman Janice Hahn, Congressman Mike Honda, 
Congressman Jared Huffman, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congressman Alan 
Lowenthal, Congresswoman Doris Matsui, Congressman Jerry McNerney, 
Congressman George Miller, Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, 
Congresswoman Gloria Negrete McLeod, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, 
Congressman Scott Peters, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, 
Congressman Raul Ruiz, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, Congresswoman 
Loretta Sanchez, Congressman Adam Schiff, Congressman Brad Sherman, 
Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Congressman Eric Swalwell, Congressman 
Mark Takano, Congressman Mike Thompson, Congressman Juan Vargas, 
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and Congressman Henry Waxman to honor our 
dear friend Mike Garcia who is retiring after more than 30 years of 
service to working families in California.
  Mike served as the President of Service Employees International Union 
United Service Workers West (SEIU USSW) between 1988 and 2014, where he 
led 40,000 janitors, security officers and airport workers across 
California in the fight for good jobs. Mike has been involved in the 
labor movement since 1980, when he began his career organizing janitors 
first in San Jose and later in San Diego in the ``Justice for 
Janitors'' campaign.
  In 2010 he oversaw the merger of several local unions into SEIU USWW, 
a statewide union of property service workers. Mike guided SEIU USWW 
through years of dramatic growth, taking a union of 1,800 janitors and 
building a powerful statewide local on the forefront of fighting for 
immigrants' rights and lifting working families out of poverty.
  Mike had a deep understanding of policy and the questions that matter 
most to working class Californians. He was also extremely brave; 
willing to face the strongest adversaries when fighting for those who 
needed his help. According to Mike, his greatest accomplishment was 
winning the historic janitors' strike of 2000 in Los Angeles, an action 
he proudly notes ``changed the lives of thousands of janitors and their 
families because USWW members--the real heroes of the strike--laid it 
all on the line for a chance to win and bring their families into the 
American middle class.''
  In retirement Mike will remain a powerful voice for vulnerable 
populations and a strong advocate for comprehensive immigration reform 
to help millions of aspiring citizens achieve better lives.
  Mr. Speaker, we ask the entire House of Representatives to join us in 
honoring Mike Garcia for his service to our Country.

                          ____________________