SR0070 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0070 LRB095 10984 KXB 31290 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of George Becker of Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, formerly of Granite City, who passed away on February 3, 2007; and

WHEREAS, As a child, George Becker grew up near the Granite City Steel plant; at the age of 15 he took a job at the plant on an open hearth labor gang; and

WHEREAS, George Becker served with the United States Marine Corps toward the end of World War II; he was drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War due to a critical shortage of light weapons infantry leaders; and

WHEREAS, George Becker's early work background also included working as a crane operator at General Steel Castings and as an assembler at the General Motors Fisher Body plant in St. Louis; and

WHEREAS, On June 21, 1950 he married Jane Goforth; after there wedding he began working at a Dow Chemical aluminum rolling mill, becoming a shop steward for Local 4804; he later became treasurer, then vice president, and in 1961 became the president of the local union; and

WHEREAS, George Becker was elected vice president of United Steelworkers of America (USW) in 1985; after the retirement of union president Lynn Williams; George Becker became the first person since the founder of the USW, Phillip Murray, to be elected president of the union without an election challenge or the death of a predecessor; and

WHEREAS, He was elected as the sixth international president of the USW in 1993, won re-election in 1997, and served in that position until his retirement in 2001; and

WHEREAS, George Becker is survived by his wife, Jane; his sons, George, Greg, and Matthew; his ten grandchildren; his five great-grandchildren; and his sister; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of George Becker; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of George Becker as a symbol of our sympathy.