Title
Honoring Patrick Eiding for twenty years of service as President of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, and recognizing his civic leadership and manifold accomplishments fighting for working families, building the power of Philadelphia workers, and winning labor rights and policies that meaningfully improve the lives of Philadelphians.
Body
WHEREAS, Patrick J. Eiding is a lifelong Philadelphian who grew up in the Kensington neighborhood of the city, and served his country in the United States Army; and
WHEREAS, Eiding began his nearly sixty-year career within the labor movement with the Insulators and Asbestos Workers Local 14 in 1963. From beginning as an apprentice, he rose through the union's ranks, ultimately serving as the local's Business Manager and Financial Secretary for over twenty-five years. Eiding has also held the position of Secretary Treasurer of the Philadelphia Building Trades and Construction Council since 1980, and sits on the Executive Council of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, and the State and Local Advisory Committee and General Board of the National AFL-CIO; and
WHEREAS, Eiding was first elected President of the Philadelphia Council of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) in January 2002, and would go on to serve seven terms. He now oversees a coalition of 110 affiliated unions representing some 200,000 unionized workers - the largest affiliation in the City; and
WHEREAS, Under Eiding's tenure, the AFL-CIO has flourished, and grown significantly in its stature and influence. By building strength through solidarity across a diverse membership, Eiding ensured that Philadelphia's labor unions have thrived during a period when organized labor nationwide has faced significant challenges and corporate-funded legal and political attacks; and
WHEREAS, Eiding is an ardent and effective advocate for improving conditions for Philadelphia's workers, and has championed the broad expansion of workers...
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