Arthur Winston
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Arthur Winston (March 22, 1906 – April 13, 2006) was a Los Angeles Metro employee for 72 years. His hourly salary was 41 cents an hour when he began work for the Los Angeles Railway in 1924. "We ate and slept. You couldn't get rich on that, but you lived," Winston told KNX Newsradio.
He stayed with the same company despite the name changes, starting from the Los Angeles Railway that 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.
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."
He has set a record as the most reliable worker that the United States Department of Labor has ever chronicled. He worked for 72 years without ever being late, and having only taken off a single day (in 1988 for the funeral of his wife Frances). In 1996, President Bill Clinton awarded him with an "Employee of the Century" citation for his work ethic and dedication.
"Mr. Winston said he enjoyed meeting Mr. Clinton, but the president didn't have much to say," LA County Supervisor Yvonne Burke told the audience at Winston's commendation ceremony on his centennial.
On his remarkable record: "It's easy. You just get up and go to work," said Winston on his 100th birthday, "It ain't no trouble. You've got to like your job in the first place. I don't lay around and play sick — work two days, sick five days. People are just using this sick leave business."
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.
In 1925, he married Frances Smith. The couple had four children and five grandchildren.
The Arthur Winston Busyard (Division 5 in South Bay) was named in his honor in Los Angeles.
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.
His 100th birthday advice for kids growing up today? "My advice to them is to just get up and go to work."
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