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WHEREAS, Neil Bisno, serves as the President of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, the state's largest union of nurses and healthcare workers, representing nearly 25,000 frontline staff in hospitals, nursing homes, state facilities as well as home and community based services; and
WHEREAS, a native of Memphis, TN, Neal Bisno was brought up to value justice and equality by his parents, Alan and Barbara, he began his work in the labor movement in 1989 as an organizer in New York City with the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU); and
WHEREAS, Neil Bisno, then with 1199 United Healthcare Workers East, the largest local union of healthcare workers in the US. At 1199 UHE, he led organizing campaigns and strikes, including a successful months-long walkout by Registered Nurses at Mercy Hospital in Port Jervis, NY; and
WHEREAS, in 1995, Neil Bisno came to Pennsylvania to become the Organizing Direct of District 1199P/SEIU (now SEIU Healthcare PA) and was soon appointed a District Vice President and helped engineer the union's rapid growth, leading breakthrough organizing drives, including the 1999 campaign by 1,300 Registered Nurses at Allegheny General Hospital, the largest successful private sector organizing campaign in the region in decades; and
WHEREAS, in 2008, Neil Bisno was appointed by the District Executive Board as the fifth President of SSEIU Healthcare PA and has since been reelected by the membership twice, he is an International Vice President of SEIU, Secretary-Treasurer of the SEIU PA State Council and a Vice President of the PA AFL-CIO; and
WHEREAS, Neil Bisno lives on Pittsburgh's North Side with his partner Lisa Frank and their son, Sam; and
WHEREAS, the health and vitality of the City of Pittsburgh is reflected in the great leadership Neil Bisno exemplifies towards improving the quality of life for all working people in Western Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, on Friday, April 19, 2013, community members will gather at the Sheraton Station Square for the Allegheny County Labor Council Banquet, to honor Neil Bisno as Labor's 2013 Man of the Year, for her continued service;
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend and congratulate Neil Bisno on being named Labor's 2013 Man of the Year by the Allegheny County Labor Council, and does hereby declare April 19, 2013, to be " Neil Bisno - Labor's 2013 Man of the Year Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.