- In his approach to all the activities he undertook, I saw, above all, concern for the common good and an attitude of public service, although Andrzej Buczek did not use such words," recalled the late Deputy Speaker of the Polish Parliament Marek Kuchcinski.

- When he said that it was necessary to go to the president, the governor or the owner of the workplace, because we were standing up for a just cause, you could rely on his word. I appreciated him very much for that.

Kuchcinski, a native of Przemyśl, has seen signs of Buczek's consuming illness over the past few months. But he appreciated all the more the readiness to help others still shown by the leader of the Przemyśl Solidarity movement. - The same strength still emanated from him that I remembered many years ago when we met," he says.

Andrzej Buczek, born in 1959 in Cieszanów, belonged to the second generation of trade unionists, only half a generation younger than the founders of the Solidarity Trade Union. He had been in the union since 1989, and became a member of the board of the Przemysl Land region in the 1992-95 term.

During his next three-year term he was already its vice chairman, and from 1998 until his untimely death he held the position of "S" chairman. And he did well, because this region, although small, has its own peculiarities, which certainly do not make life easy for the leader of a union structure.

A shrinking labor market, sometimes uneasy relations with the Ukrainian minority, competition between the region's capital, Przemyśl, and other larger centers with Jaroslaw, Przeworsk and Lubaczow - these are typical challenges that the head of a union in the area has to face. The respect and good memory left by Chairman Buczek, who died at the age of only 53, prove that he could do it.

A forest of banners bade him farewell

He had very good contacts with neighboring regions of the union, with everyone without exception, which, after all, is not necessarily the rule. - I volunteered for the flag post, because I wanted to be as close to Andrzej as possible," says the namesake of the deceased, Andrzej Filipczyk, vice-chairman of the Rzeszow "S" Union. - And indeed the closest to the coffin were the posts of the home region, ours and the national commission.

But there were many more who, like Filipczyk, wanted to show their affection and respect for their deceased colleague. After all, trade unionists from all over the country brought their banners.

- Andrzej always took great care of this, during the ceremonies he organized there were always a lot of banners and uniformed posts," recalled Tadeusz Majchrowicz, vice-chairman of the CC and head of the Podkarpacie region, who was very friendly with the deceased.

- Colleagues counted that there were no less than 60 banners, which means that nearly two hundred trade unionists participated in the honor guard at this funeral.

Chairman Majchrowicz estimates that there has probably not been such a solemn setting for a union leader's farewell since the funerals of Gregory Kolosa or Jan Frączek.

- A forest of banners from Slupsk, Koszalin, Szczecin, Zielona Gora, Wroclaw. I'm not even mentioning the neighbors. As Piotr Duda said during the ceremony, the entire Polish Solidarity movement was in the Cieszanow church at the time," says Majchrowicz.

Andrew, the brother!

- A trade unionist in flesh and blood, a man sensitive to human injustice, dedicated to the cause of Solidarity and Poland," remembers the deceased Teresa Kroczykowska, a member of the presidium of the Przemysl Land Union, who had daily contact with the chairman since 2010. After all, they sat at neighboring desks in the region's office.

- He was always ready to fight for jobs. He did not count hours, he did not act like a clerk, employee issues could be dealt with him around the clock if necessary. Teresa Kroczykowska talks about the efforts made to keep the position of medical dispatcher in Przemyśl. Apparently, the decision had already been made, but Chairman Buczek organized pickets in front of the Marshal's office, which turned out to be effective, because the governor changed her decision. And the dispatcher position remained.

- Not surprisingly, ambulances bade farewell to Andrew with a loud signal when the coffin was being placed in the grave, because after all, the dispute over paramedics in Przemyśl had just his face, Filipczyk adds.

The uncompromising nature of the late trade unionist in defending jobs is confirmed by Tadeusz Majchrowicz. - I admired him for his stubbornness and efficiency. Sometimes I even advised him, come on, after all, it can't be saved. But Andrzej never gave up. Convinced of the rightness of the cause, he would stand at the head of the protest and go to the office, even one headed by his colleague. Ours or not ours at the function, the most important thing is the cause.

Majchrowicz, with a bit more union experience, and Andrzej Buczek, became heads of neighboring regions in the 1998-2001 term. Then for years they traveled by one car, to save money, to national meetings in Gdansk. There was plenty of time to talk, so they got to know each other better and became friends.

- We sometimes differed in our views on the relationship, on Poland, on family matters, because I have sons and Andrzej has daughters, but there was never any question of a quarrel. I often said to him, Andrzej, brother! - Majchrowicz recalls.

He could only have been a trade unionist

Cheerful. Kind to people. Cordial. Helpful. In what he did, he engaged himself completely. And he was interested in everything, in the region he actually took all the work on himself. He analyzed the sources of problems and looked for effective solutions. Someone said of him that he could only be a trade unionist, in no way an employer. Because he would be too good for the workers. And so it was until the end, until the last moments, when his body, exhausted by severe illness, was already refusing to obey him.

- In November 2011, he became an alderman of the provincial assembly for the second time and immediately filed an interpellation on the Horyniec health resort, which was going to be privatized, recalls Wojciech Buczak, head of the Rzeszow region of the "S", also an alderman.

- During the last session, Andrzej was already having trouble with the electronic voting button, but after all, he still took the floor then, he still spoke on the matter for Rzeszow TV. An important matter, as only the municipalization of the spa would allow decent jobs to be maintained.

The chairman of the Rzeszow "S" recalls that the Ordinary of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia is Bishop Marian Buczek, Andrew's close cousin. It is no wonder that the deceased was involved in helping the Church in the East, that he also tried to help people in Ukraine, not only the Poles there.

- A good colleague, a sincere, honest man. Despite his short tenure as a councilman, Andrzej has gained respect and recognition, including among councilors from the ruling coalition," adds Wojciech Buczak.

- Andrew never pretended, he understood life directly, he was always himself," Majchrowicz says of his friend. - And he passed away too young. I will miss him very much.

Source: http://waldemar-zyszkiewicz.pl/.