Graphic Communicator photo by Susan Zachem

Working families could count on support from Sen. Paul D. Wellstone (D-Minn.). Supporting pending legislation on equal pay issues during a Capitol Hill press conference last year are, from left, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.); Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa); and Wellstone.

"Whether it was for workers' rights, women's rights, civil rights, workplace safety and health, fair trade, environmental protections, or raising the minimum wage, Paul D. Wellstone stood up to be counted no matter what the odds. This loyal friend to working families will be sorely missed," said GCIU Vice Pres. Lawrence Martinez, who directs legislative affairs for the International.

Wellstone, the Democratic senator from Minnesota, died in a plane crash in his home state on Oct. 25, along with his wife Sheila Ison, daughter Marcia, three campaign aides, and the plane's two pilots. He is survived by sons David and Mark and six grandchildren.

At the time of his death, Wellstone, 58, had a slight lead in a tight campaign race for his third Senate term against former St. Paul Republican Mayor Norm Coleman.

In a statement, AFL-CIO Pres. John J. Sweeney said that Wellstone "stood up for the little guy, but he never had small thoughts. He was tireless and unapologetic for championing the rights of working men and women even when he stood alone. He was an outspoken advocate of legislation to give workers a stronger voice on the job, despite the current legislative odds that favor corporate special interests. Paul Wellstone refused to shrink his vision or abandon his principles, and our nation's workers are the better for it. America's working men and women had no better friend."

Minnesota AFL-CIO Pres. Ray Waldron said: "There is a hole in our hearts today. For Paul Wellstone, for Sheila, for Marcia, for the staff and the families. We are in mourning. But we know the best tribute we can pay to Paul is to keep his values alive. We'll mourn our dead. And we'll fight like hell for the living."

In a letter of tribute to Wellstone, St. Paul 29C Pres. Nicholas D. Caruso wrote: "For the past 11 years, the American workers and their families have had no greater ally than Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone. When conflicts arose pitting the interests of big business against the rights and needs of workers, you always knew where Sen. Wellstone stood. He did not need to see what the polls were indicating or check with consultants. He spoke for working families intuitively. He fought valiantly against some of the most powerful forces in the country and stood tall on the Senate floor to argue articulately and compassionately the perspective of workers as only Paul Wellstone could."

"While it is important to grieve this tremendous loss," Caruso said, "It is equally important to reflect on what we have done and what we need to do to support the people and causes that Sen. Wellstone worked so very hard to serve. Let us use this heartbreaking incident as an opportunity to carry on the legacy of a great man. Let us resolve to become more active in the affairs of our community. Let us find the time to aid the agencies and programs that provide services for those in need. Let us become more active in our neighborhoods, our schools and children's activities, our workplaces, our unions, and let us make a firm commitment that we will work to elect officials at every level of government who believe in the principles that Paul fought for and that make America great."

Following a public memorial service for Wellstone, Minnesota's Democratic-Farm-Labor Party (DFL) is scheduled to meet Oct. 30 to choose Wellstone's successor. Indications are that choice will be former Democratic Vice Pres. Walter F. Mondale.

Martinez said Mondale would be a good choice. "He's a known entity," Martinez said. "In labor we consider him a friend. He is the best known and most respected politician in Minnesota and therefore is the most logical and best choice for the Democrats."

Wellstone, raised by his Russian immigrant parents Leon and Minnie Wellstone in Arlington, Va., became a professor of political science at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., after earning a doctorate in political science from the University of North Carolina in 1969.

An ardent community activist, Wellstone led sympathy protests for striking Hormel meat packers – members of the United Food and Commercial Workers – and was arrested while picketing a bank that had foreclosed on farmers.

Elected to the Senate in 1990 as a longshot opponent against Republican incumbent Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, Wellstone quickly demonstrated that he came to Washington to speak up for poor and working families. Legislation he supported included strengthening workers' ability to choose union representation in their workplaces; national health care; increases in the minimum wage; stronger workplace safety and health rules and enforcement; stronger equal pay protections; help for seniors for prescription drugs; and better mental health care.

Typical of Wellstone's courage in one of his last votes in Congress, he was the only senator in a close reelection race to vote against a Senate resolution providing Pres. George W. Bush with power to wage war on Iraq. On Oct. 26, union members joined an estimated 100,000 people in Washington, D.C., and another 75,000 in San Francisco who took to the streets in what The Washington Post called the largest antiwar protest since the 1960s.

Wellstone's campaign headquarters released the text of an advertisement that the staff said was "the way Paul wanted to end the campaign." Wellstone said: "I don't represent the big oil companies. I don't represent the big pharmaceutical companies. I don't represent the Enrons of this world. But you know what? They already have great representation in Washington. It's the rest of the people that need it. I represent the people of Minnesota."