RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF MAY 17, 2018
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RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners congratulating Jorge Ramirez on his retirement
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WHEREAS, Jorge Ramirez is retiring from his position as president of the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL) and a vice president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO); and
WHEREAS, Jorge served as an officer of the Chicago Federation of Labor since July 2006 and was elected the CFL’s first Latino president in July 2010; and
WHEREAS, in February 2015, Jorge was elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Council as a vice president, helping to guide the daily work of the national federation; and
WHEREAS, in addition to his work at the CFL, Jorge is the Chairman of the Board of Managers for ST Acquisitions Holdings, a coalition of union and like-minded investors who purchased the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Reader, straightdope.com and Answers Media in July 2017, making him the first Latino chairman of a major media corporation; and
WHEREAS, Jorge earned his first union card in 1988 through the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 100A, now Local 1546; and
WHEREAS, working his way up through the ranks, Jorge eventually served as UFCW Local 1546’s executive director before moving to the CFL; and
WHEREAS, as the son of Mexican immigrants, Jorge understood the struggles his father, a meat packing worker in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, and his fellow workers endured to unionize their workplace in the 1960s. Their fight for a living wage and better conditions motivated Jorge in his career serving working men and women in organized labor; and
WHEREAS, as president of the CFL, Jorge serves on executive and advisory boards for labor, civic, and community organizations across the city and around the country; and
WHEREAS, as a board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Jorge promoted the dual mandate of maximizing employment and stabilizing prices while also moderating long-term interest rates to foster a healthy economy. Through his work with Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, Chicago Sports Commission, Choose Chicago, Chicago Infrastructure Trust and Navy Pier, Inc., Jorge worked to bring jobs and expand the region’s economy by growing and improving the city’s manufacturing, infrastructure, tourism and trade show opportunities; and
WHEREAS, Jorge also serves on the boards of Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, the Archdiocese of Chicago Office for Immigrant Affairs, St. Joseph College Seminary, and other civic and community groups; and
WHEREAS, Jorge and his wife Catrina are the proud parents of four sons; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, do hereby congratulate Jorge Ramirez for his years of service to organized labor; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Dated: May 17, 2018
Approved: MARIYANA T. SPYROPOULOS, President; BARBARA J. MCGOWAN, Vice President; FRANK AVILA, Chairman, Committee on Finance; MARTIN J. DURKAN; JOSINA MORITA; DEBRA SHORE; KARI K. STEELE; DAVID J. WALSH; Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Approved as to Form and Legality: Susan T. Morakalis, General Counsel