Full Text of HR1198 100th General Assembly
HR1198 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to honor Keith Kelleher, former | 4 | | President of Service Employees International Union Healthcare | 5 | | Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, for his hard work and | 6 | | dedication, as he retires on September 14, 2018; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher's early work in the Jesuit | 8 | | Volunteer Corps in Detroit in the early 1980s led him to make a | 9 | | lifelong commitment to organizing for social and economic | 10 | | justice; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher served as President of the Service | 12 | | Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, | 13 | | Missouri, Kansas from its creation in April 2008 until April | 14 | | 2017; he has held the positions of Field Organizer, Lead | 15 | | Organizer, and Head Organizer of Legacy Local 880 since 1983 | 16 | | and, prior to that, Head Organizer of United Labor Unions Local | 17 | | 222 in Detroit, MI since 1980; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, In his 39 years of work as a labor and community | 19 | | organizer, Keith Kelleher has pioneered the organization of | 20 | | fast food, home care, child care, and other low-wage workers, | 21 | | growing Legacy Local 880 from just seven members in 1983 to | 22 | | over 70,000 members by 2008; he grew SEIU HCIIMK from 83,000 |
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| 1 | | members in 2008 to over 92,000 members by 2014 and won living | 2 | | wages and first-ever healthcare for tens of thousands of | 3 | | Illinois workers; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher was the Field Director of the | 5 | | National SEIU's "Homecare Task Force" from 1996 until 1998; he | 6 | | traveled, researched, and housed visiting homecare workers in | 7 | | over ten states and began the work that led to the organization | 8 | | of hundreds of thousands of home care workers across the | 9 | | country; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Today, more than 600,000 home care and child care | 11 | | workers in more than 15 states across the country are united in | 12 | | SEIU, fighting for a better standard of living for themselves | 13 | | and their families, joining with nursing home and hospital | 14 | | workers to become a national movement for quality care and | 15 | | quality jobs; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher was a founder and a leader in the | 17 | | National SEIU Homecare Council, composed of leaders from over | 18 | | 15 local unions; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher was a Board Member and then Vice | 20 | | President of the SEIU Illinois State Council which, during his | 21 | | years of service service, grew from 70,000 to over 120,000 | 22 | | members; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, As an organizer, Keith Kelleher has been | 2 | | privileged to train hundreds of rank and file leaders and | 3 | | organizers throughout his career; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher helped found the Helen Miller | 5 | | Member Education and Training Center (METC), which has trained | 6 | | thousands of home care and child care workers, as well as the | 7 | | SEIU HCIIMK Homecare and Childcare Health Trust Fund, which | 8 | | brought first-time health care to over 15,000 home care and | 9 | | child care workers; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher was active in several grassroots | 11 | | organizing initiatives, including the Grassroots | 12 | | Collaborative, "Fight for $15" and "United Working Families"; | 13 | | and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher was active in the "Chicago Jobs and | 15 | | Living Wage Campaign" and the "Big Box Living Wage Campaign" | 16 | | from the 1990s until the 2000s, which led to the increases in | 17 | | the Chicago and Illinois minimum wage and benefitted hundreds | 18 | | of thousands, if not millions, of Chicago and Illinois Workers; | 19 | | and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, In recognition of his historic accomplishments in | 21 | | organizing and with the labor movement, Keith Kelleher was |
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| 1 | | elected as an SEIU International Executive Board Vice President | 2 | | from June 2008 until 2017; therefore, be it
| 3 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 4 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 5 | | congratulate Keith Kelleher on his hard work for Service | 6 | | Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, | 7 | | Missouri, Kansas and others, and we wish him the best as he | 8 | | retires from this position; and be it further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 10 | | presented to Keith Kelleher as an expression of our esteem and | 11 | | respect.
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