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91_HR0223
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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, On January 12, 1999 Tom Padgett announced that
3 at the end of May of 1999 he would be retiring after 40 years
4 in the retail food business, including 32 years of service
5 and dedication to working families; and
6 WHEREAS, In 1958, working for Jewel Food Stores, Tom
7 Padgett began his career as a Rank & File member of Organized
8 Labor in the United Retail Workers; for several years in
9 between (1946-1966), Tom was a member of Local 324 RCIU
10 (Retail Clerks International Union, one of the original
11 organizations that merged in 1979 to become the UFCW) while
12 employed by the Stater Brothers grocery chain in Orange
13 County, California; and
14 WHEREAS, Working in retail food for over nine years
15 provided Tom with a solid, first hand understanding of the
16 supermarket/drug store businesses as well as what working men
17 and women experience day to day on the job; and
18 WHEREAS, In 1967, he was hired as a Field Representative
19 for the URW where his skills were recognized as a Union
20 Representative, a Collective Bargaining Negotiator, and an
21 Union Organizer; and
22 WHEREAS, Through the late 1960s and the entire decade of
23 the 1970s he was assigned to numerous special organizing
24 projects in Central Illinois, forcing Tom to sacrifice time
25 with his family while away on Union business; yet Tom never
26 complained and always put his best efforts forward, the true
27 test of a committed labor leader; in later years he went on
28 to oversee the Union's Non-Foods Division; and
29 WHEREAS, Local 881 President, Ron Powell, appointed Tom
30 Padgett to the post of Director of Field Operations in 1983;
31 and
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1 WHEREAS, During the decade of the 1980s, Local 881 UFCW
2 solidified and added to its membership base through
3 continuous organizing campaigns and a number of mergers with
4 other UFCW locals; Tom was called into action again, where he
5 led most organizing drives and coordinated the various
6 mergers, particularly in Southern Illinois; the results are
7 still apparent today, as the Local 881 UFCW, Edwardsville,
8 and Marion offices continue to represent a significant and
9 growing segment of Local 881's membership; Tom was
10 instrumental in making this happen, and in building a
11 skilled, devoted, and extremely capable staff serving
12 Southern Illinois; and
13 WHEREAS, In 1988, Tom Padgett was appointed to the
14 position of Local 881 UFCW Executive Vice President where
15 many of the methods and policies for effectively leading
16 Local 881's field staff are still in place, statements to his
17 abilities and foresight; and
18 WHEREAS, As Executive Vice President Tom spearheaded the
19 revitalization of Local 881's Data Processing Department by
20 updating computer capabilities, building a close-knit and
21 highly efficient staff, and enhancing a system of maintaining
22 membership records; he also served as a frequent, insightful,
23 and welcome advisor to the Collective Bargaining and
24 Communications Departments while continuing to supervise the
25 Edwardsville and Marion offices; and
26 WHEREAS, To the benefit of the Local 881 membership, Tom
27 became heavily involved and extremely knowledgeable in Local
28 881's Health and Welfare areas, by serving as Trustee for the
29 Midwest Health Benefits Fund; he directed Local 881's
30 groundbreaking LEAD Program (Labor Education and Defense),
31 aimed at protecting the market share of UFCW Union stores in
32 the early 1990s, and has also overseen all organizing
33 activities for nearly a decade; and
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1 WHEREAS, After becoming Local 881 UFCW
2 Secretary-Treasurer in 1995, Tom gained the opportunity to
3 work more closely with yet other areas of Local 881, such as
4 the Accounting Department and the Springfield, Illinois
5 office; the new post likewise enabled him to become even more
6 involved in Local 881's diverse charitable outreach programs
7 benefitting the Leukemia Society, Better Boys Foundation
8 Family Services, the United Way, and others; and
9 WHEREAS, Tom Padgett served the working men and women of
10 Local 881 UFCW while being a devoted husband to his wife
11 Marion, father to Doug and his wife, Kelly, to Kim and her
12 husband, Chuck, and to Cindy and her husband, Bill, as well
13 as being a grandfather to Tara, Melanie, Kevin, Elizabeth,
14 Kathleen, and Andrew; therefore, be it
15 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
17 we recognize the lifetime commitment Tom Padgett gave to the
18 working men and women of Illinois; and be it further
19 RESOLVED, That we congratulate Tom Padgett on his
20 retirement from Local 881 of the United Food and Commercial
21 Workers and wish him good fortune in his retirement; and be
22 it further
23 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
24 presented to Tom Padgett and each of his children.