Arthur Winston

Infobox Person
name = Arthur Winston


image_size = 250px
caption = Arthur Winston at age 99.
birth_date = March 22, 1906
birth_place = Okemie, Oklahoma Territory
death_date = April 13, 2006
death_place = Los Angeles, California
death_cause = Heart Failure
residence = Los Angeles, California
known_for = Awarded "Employee of the Century" by President Bill Clinton
employer = Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
title = Bus Maintenance Supervisor
spouse = Frances Smith

Arthur Winston (March 22 1906 – April 13 2006) was a Los Angeles Metro employee for 72 years. He is best known for being honored as the "Employee of the Century" because he was never late to work and only took one day off during his entire career.

Biography

As a boy Winston was born and grew up in Oklahoma before it became a state, but in 1918 his family moved west to California because of dust storms ruining their crops. He graduated from LA's Jefferson High School in 1922.

He began working in 1924 for the Los Angeles Railway. His hourly salary was 41 cents an hour. "We ate and slept. You couldn't get rich on that, but you lived," Winston told KNX Newsradio.

In 1925, he married Frances Smith. The couple had four children and five grandchildren.

He stayed with the agency through its name changes, starting from the Los Angeles Railway which became Los Angeles Transit Lines in 1945, to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority created in 1958, the Southern California Rapid Transit District created in 1964, and as it is known today Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority "Metro" created in 1993.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton awarded him with an "Employee of the Century" citation for his work ethic and dedication. He is the most reliable worker that the United States Department of Labor has ever chronicled. He worked for 72 years without ever being late, and only took a single single day off work (in 1988 for the funeral of his wife Frances).

Winston died of heart failure in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles on April 13 2006 at around 8:00 p.m., less than one month after his retirement.

He attributed his work ethic to his upbringing, asserting that his father taught him the value of hard work at an early age. Upon his retirement on his 100th birthday, he stated that he was planning to visit his 98-year-old brother in Tennessee and had the intention of remaining active in various endeavors. "I'm going to keep active. I can't afford to just sit down. I wouldn't do that," he said. "I don't drink and I don't smoke, so I feel alright."

The Arthur Winston Busyard (Division 5 in South Bay) was named in his honor in Los Angeles.

External links

* [http://www.metro.net/press/2006/04_april/metro.htm Official statement on Arthur Winston's death]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4841942.stm BBC Article on Arthur Winston]
* [http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-03-24-voa42.cfm Voice of America Article]
* [http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/8189269/detail.html NBC San Diego News Report]
* [http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=283822&sid=LIF Zee News Article]
* [http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_104133650.html "MTA Employee Who Retired At 100 Has Died In Sleep"]
* [http://www.linder.com/archives/14 KNX Newsradio interview with Arthur Winston]