[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2] [Senate] [Page 1935] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]RETIREMENT OF MARK SMITH Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to a very special Iowan and a truly exceptional labor leader, Mark Smith. Mark retired earlier this month after serving 28 years in leadership roles in the Iowa Federation of Labor. He served as secretary-treasurer from 1974 until 1997, and as president from 1997 until his retirement. Throughout, he has remained a member of the American Federation of Teachers, Local 716. Prior to coming to the Iowa Federation of Labor, Mark spent 5 years as an instructor at the University of Iowa's Labor Center, where he taught up-and-coming union leaders about labor law, labor history, communication, leadership, economics, and public policy. Mark may have left the classroom, but he never stopped being a teacher and mentor. He has always believed strongly that to achieve real successes for working families and to advance a progressive public policy agenda, it is critical to train people to organize and advocate for themselves. Throughout his distinguished tenure as IFL president, Mark was respected for his keen intelligence and his direct, honest, feisty style of doing business. He understood the political system, and how to get things done. He didn't believe in top-down political engagement; he believed in organizing and empowering people at the grass roots to fight for a brighter future--and to win. Mark is a proud progressive, with a passion for economic and social justice. He is also a passionate believer in bringing people together in collective action, whether in the political arena, at the bargaining table, or in the community. He has devoted his life to building stronger unions because he believes that they are an ideal vehicle for effecting positive change for ordinary people. For many years, I have counted on Mark for his friendship, counsel, and support--and that will not change. But his retirement is a tremendous loss for working families and for the labor movement in Iowa. In the Bible, it says that ``if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?'' For more than a decade as president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, there has been nothing uncertain about Mark Smith's trumpet. He has been a great labor leader, and a strong, unwavering voice for progressive change. I wish him a long and happy retirement with his family, including wife Marty, daughter Christine, sons Michael and Erich, and grandson Isaiah. ____________________