Since his retirement at the end of October, former UE General President Carl Rosen has been honored for his life of service to the working class in the halls of Congress, by the Chicago City Council, and by the labor-community coalition Jobs with Justice.
In December, Congressman Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, who spoke at a rally at UE’s last convention in Chicago, took to the floor of Congress to honor Rosen, calling him “one of the legendary architects of working-class power in Chicago.” Garcia noted that “Carl has always understood that power is never given, it is organized, disciplined, and won.”
In April, the Chicago City Council unanimously passed a resolution congratulating Rosen on his retirement and noting his role in winning a just severance agreement when the plant he worked in closed in the early 1990s, as negotiator during the Republic Windows and Doors occupation in 2008, and as a leader of U.S. Labor Against the War in the 2000s and National Labor Network for Ceasefire in 2024.
Rosen was also honored by the labor-community coalition Jobs with Justice at their National Conference in Atlanta in May, where he received the 2026 Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award in recognition of his “distinguished career in championing the rights and well-being of workers through … exemplary leadership, steadfast integrity, and lifelong dedication to working people.”
The award was presented by Ford Foundation Vice President Sarita Gupta, who worked with Rosen as the first staff person of Chicago JwJ and went on to become JwJ’s national executive director. Gupta spoke about how Rosen was “so supportive” of her as a young organizer, and “a holder of deep history of working-class struggle in Chicago and around the country that provided a real grounding to organizers and other leaders like myself.” She said Rosen “modeled a way to lead that was respectful of many views” while staying focused on purpose. “This is important to be able to do in coalition organizing.”
In his remarks, Rosen reviewed the long history of collaboration between UE and JwJ, including the creation of the first Workers’ Rights Board by UE and JwJ in Vermont and the historic UE Local 1110 plant occupation of Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago in 2008, and he noted that key architects of those struggles, UE Director of Organization Kim Lawson and UE Director of Strategic Programs Mark Meinster respectively, were in the audience.
"Through all of this work many, many people learned the importance of coalition,” Rosen said, and of going on the offense in difficult times. “These really are the building blocks for so much of our work, whether it’s through May Day Strong or other formations, as we face the challenges of our time.
“So Jobs with Justice is needed now more than ever to constantly make a reality of the pledge to be there for each other’s fights. That remains the best way to make the power of the people greater than the people in power. Solidarity!”
This article was updated on June 10 with a video of the JwJ awards ceremony and excerpts from Gupta’s and Rosen’s remarks.