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Labor and Community leaders gathered on June 1st to honor Phil and Sala Burton. Left to right - Dolores Huerta, United Farm Workers; Michael Theriault, SFBTC Secretary-Treasurer; Stan Smith, SFBTC retired Secretary-Treasurer; Roger Dillon, State Senate Labor Committee; Sue Bierman, neighborhood activist and former SF Supervisor; Larry Fahn, Attorney; John Rizzo, Sierra Club; and Justice Harry Low
Labor and community leaders from San Francisco gathered at Fort Mason on June 1st to celebrate the legacy of Phil and Sala Burton. A ceremony was held in the shadow of the 12 foot bronze likeness of the late Congressman Phillip Burton around 5:00 p.m. It was a beautiful spring afternoon with the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marina Green in the background. Guests were welcomed by Jonathan Jarvis the regional director of the National Park Service. Community leaders including Art Pulaski of California Labor Federation and Walter Johnson representing the San Francisco Labor Council talked about their associations with the Burtons. Representatives from the San Francisco Building Trades Council included Stan Smith, former Secretary Treasurer of the Council, and Michael Theriault current Secretary Treasurer. The celebration of the Burton legacy was made more poignant by the young people who attended from the Presidio Dance Theatre holding the flags of the United Nations in a circle around the statue.
Jonathan Jarvis, Regional Director of the National Parks Service welcomes guests at the Fort Mason ceremony honoring Phil and Sala Burton. Bill Hough of the Phil and Sala Burton Center is on the right holding the American flag
Phil Burton first became politically active in the San Francisco Young Democrats in the late 1940s, was elected to the State Assembly in 1954, and later elected to represent San Francisco in Congress in 1964. This was the period of Lyndon Johnson’s ‘Great Society’ when social and economic equality were valued as important social goals. Phil served the community in Congress until his death in 1982. He fought hard for things like civil rights, environmental protection, and social justice.

The tribute at Fort Mason honored the vision, leadership and accomplishments of Congressman Phillip and his wife Sala Burton. The event highlighted the idea of maintaining a safe and clean environment for future generations based on sustainable development. John Rizzo of the Sierra Club spoke briefly. Later a panel discussion was held in the Fort Mason Officers Club about, ‘the Human Right to a Clean and Safe Environment.’

The host committee for the event included Walter Johnson, Secretary Treasurer Emeritus of the SF Labor Council; Dolores Huerta former President of the United Farm Workers; Judge Harry Low; former Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr.; Agar Jaicks; Jane Morrison Chair of the San Francisco Central Democratic Party, and Larry Fahn past President of the Sierra Club.

The late congressman Phillip Burton and his wife Sala Burton who succeeded him in Congress in 1983, were champions of working families and of organized labor. To keep their legacy alive, the San Francisco Labor Council, the AFL-CIO and the Sierra Club have formed the Phillip and Sala Burton Center for Human Rights at the Presidio National Park under the leadership of Bill Hough. Their mission is to promote international human rights, and to advance the cause of labor and of the environment in the interests of economic and social justice.

 
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