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Also naming the 1400 Block of Thompson Street as “Samuel Staten Jr. Way” to honor the life, leadership, and enduring contributions of Samuel Staten Jr. to organized labor, working families, and the City of Philadelphia.
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WHEREAS, Samuel Staten Jr., born September 9, 1952, is a native Philadelphian, a graduate of Germantown High School, and the son of the late Samuel Staten Sr., whose own life of service helped establish a proud tradition of leadership within Philadelphia’s labor community; and
WHEREAS, Samuel Staten Jr. began his career in 1972 when he joined Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 332 and spent seven years working in the field as a laborer, gaining firsthand knowledge of the work, sacrifice, dignity, and determination of the men and women whose labor has built and sustained Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Over the decades that followed, Samuel Staten Jr. rose through the ranks of Local 332, serving as Field Representative, Recording Secretary, Secretary-Treasurer, Assistant Business Manager, President, and ultimately Business Manager, dedicating his career to advancing the interests of laborers and expanding opportunity for Philadelphia’s working families; and
WHEREAS, Samuel Staten Jr.’s leadership extended throughout the labor movement, including service as a leader within the Laborers’ District Council of the Metropolitan Area of Philadelphia and Vicinity, the Philadelphia AFL-CIO, and the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, and in 2016 he was appointed Vice President of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, bringing his Philadelphia-rooted leadership to a union representing working people throughout the United States and Canada; and
WHEREAS, His service to Philadelphia has reached far beyond the union hall, including leadership and service with organizations concerned with workforce development, housing, education, African American labor leadership, and the well-being of Philadelphia’s communities, and in 2018 the Council of the City of Philadelphia approved his appointment to the Board of Commissioners of the Philadelphia Housing Authority; and
WHEREAS, Samuel Staten Jr. has made the preparation of the next generation of workers a central part of his legacy, championing training and apprenticeship opportunities and founding the Samuel Staten Sr. Pre-Apprenticeship Program to introduce Philadelphians to family-sustaining careers in the skilled trades and provide young people with pathways toward economic security, professional development, and lifelong opportunity; and
WHEREAS, In recognition of his decades of leadership and commitment to developing skilled workers, Laborers’ Local 332 named its new training facility the Samuel Staten Jr. Building in 2021, ensuring that generations of laborers will enter their profession in a place bearing the name of a man who devoted his life to strengthening their union, their craft, and their possibilities; and
WHEREAS, For more than five decades, Samuel Staten Jr. has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the principle that working people deserve dignity, opportunity, representation, and a meaningful stake in the prosperity of the City they help build, and his leadership has strengthened Philadelphia’s labor movement while opening doors for countless workers and families; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the 1400 Block of Thompson Street shall also be named “Samuel Staten Jr. Way” in honor of Samuel Staten Jr. and his more than five decades of distinguished service, leadership, and commitment to organized labor, working families, workforce opportunity, and the City of Philadelphia.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this Resolution be presented to Samuel Staten Jr. as evidence of the sincere admiration and appreciation of this legislative body for his extraordinary contributions to the people and City of Philadelphia.
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