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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING 30 YEARS OF DISTINGUISHED SERVICE FOR CARL ROSEN
WHEREAS, Carl Rosen, a lifelong Chicagoan and labor leader, retired in November 2025 after three decades of distinguished leadership and service in the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), leaving behind an extraordinary legacy of democratic and worker-led unionism; and
WHEREAS, Carl Rosen’s devotion to the labor movement began in childhood, walking alongside his father during his first picket line at the age of five; and
WHEREAS, Carl Rosen’s father was a member of UE Local 1114 on Chicago’s South Side, instilling in Carl the values of solidarity, collective action, and working-class power that would later define his life’s work; and
WHEREAS, after years of working in union-represented industrial jobs and organizing for social justice causes, Carl Rosen became a maintenance electrician and joined UE Local 190 at Kerr Glass in Chicago in 1984, where he quickly emerged as a trusted rank-and-file leader, serving as steward, bargaining committee member, and local president in a diverse, member-driven workplace; and
WHEREAS, in 1994, Carl Rosen led a landmark plant-closing fight at Kerr Glass, mobilizing workers locally and nationally, confronting corporate greed, and securing a historic severance agreement including lifetime health coverage for senior workers, demonstrating the power of collective resistance and principled leadership; and
WHEREAS, Carl Rosen was elected Secretary-Treasurer of UE District 11 in 1990 and District President in 1994, later becoming the first President of the UE Western Region in 2006, where he ensured that workers across a vast and diverse region spanning from the Midwest to the West Coast had an equal voice in their union; and
WHEREAS, Carl Rosen provided steadfast leadership to both private and public-sector workers, including UE’s first large public-sector local, Iowa United Professionals, and emerging graduate worker unions, consistently applying UE’s core principles of rank-and-file democracy and militant advocacy to new generations of workers; and
WHEREAS, Carl Rosen served with honor on UE’s General Executive Board, earning deep respect for his integrity, strategic insight, and ability to unite diverse perspectives while always centering the needs and voices of working people; and
WHEREAS, in 2008, Carl Rosen played a central role in the historic Republic Windows and Doors occupation in Chicago, helping workers secure $2 million in severance and reaffirming Cook County’s proud tradition as a birthplace of bold and effective labor action; and
WHEREAS, Carl Rosen was elected General President of UE in 2019, leading the union through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, safeguarding worker health and safety, and preserving democratic participation through innovative virtual organizing and the union’s first-ever online convention; and
WHEREAS, under Carl Rosen’s leadership, UE members secured first contracts at major institutions including MIT and Stanford University, proving that organized worker-led movements can prevail even in the most powerful and complex workplaces; and
WHEREAS, Carl Rosen has been a tireless advocate for international labor solidarity, peace, and social justice, representing UE and the workers of Cook County on the global stage and helping build broad coalitions to advance democracy, oppose war, and strengthen the labor movement; and
WHEREAS, throughout his career, Carl Rosen has embodied the highest ideals of the labor movement: solidarity, democracy, courage, and unwavering commitment to the working class, earning the respect and admiration of workers, labor leaders, and allies across the nation and around the world;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby honors and commends Carl Rosen upon his retirement for three decades of exceptional leadership, and for a lifetime devoted to advancing the rights, dignity, and power of working people; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Carl Rosen as an honorable expression of sincere gratitude and admiration for a lifetime of service and impact.
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