Honoring the Life and Career of George R. Tucker

HONORING THE LIFE AND CAREER OF GEORGE R. TUCKER -- (Extensions of Remarks - April 02, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. MARCY KAPTUR
OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2004

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life's work of George R. Tucker, retiring as the Regional Director and Executive Secretary of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Ohio Council 8, AFL-CIO. Mr. Tucker has spent his career furthering the goals of organized labor in the struggle to improve the lives and livelihoods of the brothers and sisters and thus, make our Nation stronger.

AFL Founder Samuel Gompers explained in an 1898 speech, "To protect the workers in their inalienable rights to a higher and better life; to protect them, not only as equals before the law, but also in their health, their homes, their firesides, their liberties as men, as workers, as citizens; to overcome and conquer prejudices and antagonism; to secure to them the right to life, and the opportunity to maintain that life; the right to be full sharers in the abundance which is the result of their brain and brawn, and the civilization of which they are the founders and the mainstay. ..... The attainment of these is the glorious mission of the trade unions." His words ring as eloquently true in the dawn of the 21st century as they did in the waning of the 19th century. His words provide the blueprint by which labor leaders like George Tucker have always led, setting the economic and social achievements of the membership as a whole as their primary goal.

George Tucker completed high school at Toledo's Woodward High School and followed that with service in the United States Navy. After more than two decades "in the trenches," he became the staff representative for AFSCME's Ohio Council 8 in 1984. In 1987 he took on the responsibilities of Regional Director, adding Executive Secretary in 2002. Other offices Mr. Tucker has held during his tenure with AFSCME Ohio Council 8 are Secretary-Treasurer and Regional Vice President. At the same time, he has served the Toledo Area AFL-CIO on its steering committee and executive board and as President. He also holds a position on the national AFL-CIO's advisory board. Mr. Tucker gives of his time and talents to the United Labor Committee, Northwest Ohio Center for Labor Management Cooperation, Toledo Labor Management Citizens Committee, and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. In all these pursuits, he has championed the causes of better wages, benefits, and working conditions for the thousands of workers whose lives he has touched.

Mr. Tucker has not limited his service to the union movement; he is also a community leader. He has ably and actively served on the boards of the local EMS, Toledo Lucas County Public Library, Ohio Public Employers Lawyers Association, the Private Industry Council, United Way, Lucas County Democratic Party, Toledo Port Council, and the Down River Inter-City Hockey Club in Detroit and the Greater Toledo Amateur Hockey Association. He is a member of American Legion Post 110, Destroyer Escort Sailors Association, Augsburg Lutheran Church, and the Placers Car Club.

Reviewing the exhaustive list of George Tucker's civic activities, it is clear his retirement is most deserved and maybe a little bit welcome. We wish him a most enjoyable journey on this new path in his life. We hope he is able to spend time with his wife and their children and grandchildren, and pursue golfing and the hobby of antique cars with the same vigor with which he has pursued his public life. Even though he may be officially retiring, we know we can continue to count on George Tucker's learned wisdom and personal counsel. Our community has been bettered immeasurably as a result of his dedication and good cheer. Onward, friend.