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 and by the Chicago City Council.
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.”