Washington, D.C. — The 1.6 million members of AFSCME join Americans of all walks of life in mourning the loss of our closest ally and most steadfast friend in the U.S. Senate, Ted Kennedy. During Senator Kennedy’s nearly 47 years as a servant of the entire nation, the labor movement developed an especially close relationship with him, and AFSCME was proud to stand with him in every political effort he made. We stood by his side when he ran against Jimmy Carter because Ted Kennedy was such a great champion for working people and families.

Senator Kennedy called health care reform the cause of his life, first advocating for national health care in 1966. He made a surprise return to the Senate last summer to cast the decisive vote for the Democrats on a Medicare bill. In his memory, we must continue to do all we can to realize his goal of health care reform.

Beyond what he achieved on the national stage, Ted Kennedy was an empathetic and caring man. He stayed in contact with families who lost loved ones on 9/11 and remained in touch long after the cameras were gone. The tragedies he experienced made him especially compassionate when others endured their own hardships.

For me this loss is particularly difficult. He was not just an ally, but a dear friend. But while Senator Kennedy will no longer raise his voice on our behalf, we will forever remember what he gave all of us: his life, his passion, his commitment to a more fair and equitable nation. In remembrance of him, let us all keep fighting for the causes he championed so willingly and so well, and rededicate ourselves to winning national health care reform.

A careful reading of the recently published and mailed Cook County PENSION NOTES should have alerted you to two important things:

A. Our pension fund’s rate of return was minus 24.5% in 2008 or a loss of about 2 Billion dollars from 2007!

B. An election for a seat on the Pension Board (called Trustee of the Annuity and Benefit Fund) will be held on Wednesday October 28, 2009. Mail ballots can be requested. Nominating petitions for the position can be obtained beginning September 3, 2009 at the Fund’s main office at 33 N Dearborn Suite 1000.

September 7, 2009 – 2pm

Chicago’s Pullman State Historic Site

111th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue

Invited Guest of Honor: President Barack Obama

Moderator: WCPT Radio Host Dick Kay

Program:

Music and Food

Speakers Celebrating the Achievements of American Working Families — Commemorate Past and Ongoing Struggles for a Union Wage, the Rights of Citizenship, Healthy Workplaces, Strong Communities, Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Immigrant Rights, and Service Jobs that are Good Jobs.

Speakers Rallying for a Better World for American Working Families — Equal Opportunity for All Men and Women Regardless of Race, Ethnicity, Religion, or Sexual Orientation through the Employee Free Choice Act, Health Care Reform, Education Reform, and “Green Jobs.”

Providing Access to Services for American Working Families — Get Free Advice from Labor Lawyers and Representatives from the Chicago Public Schools , the Chicago Department of Public Health, Labor Unions, Community Organizations, and More.

Sponsored by: State of Illinois AFL-CIO, Chicago Federation of Labor, Chicago Building Trades Council, Illinois Labor History Society,  Pullman Business Council, Historic Pullman Foundation, Pullman Civic Organization, Bronzeville/Black Chicagoan Historical Society, Calumet Heritage Partnership, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the Chicago Center for Working Class Studies, Arise Chicago, Jobs with Justice, A. Philip Randolph Institute, SEIU, AFSCME Council 31, United Steelworkers, EU-Illinois, Ironworkers Locals 1 & 63, Electrical Workers, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Illinois State Senator Donne Trotter, Illinois State Representatives Connie Howard and Marlow Colvin

Co-Chairs Tom Shepherd (773) 370-3305    labordaypullman@gmail.com

Larry Spivack   (312) 663-4107    ilhs@prodigy.net

Chicago’s Pullman State Historic Site

http://laborday.pullmanevents.info/

111th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue , 60628

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Our agenda, which is a work in progress:

1) Several exhibits within the old Pullman factory building, including Illinois Labor History Society’s “Illinois Labor at Work,” and exerpts from a Smithsonian Institution video documentary production titled, “Soul of a People,” followed by a discussion with producer/director Andrea Kalin of SparkMedia. It is a great documentary about the WPA’s Writer’s Project, designed to help put people to work in the 1930′s, and to chronicle the history of our nation’s culture at the time.

Presentation by author/historian Lyn Hughes, founder of the A. Philip Randolph-Pullman Porters Museum

2) A free picnic for striking and struggling workers and their families, including Congress Hotel employees (six years into their strike), Republic Window Co, who recently won a concession to keep their doors open, Hartmarx Corp., Resurrection Hospital workers, Quad Cities Die Casting Co., and others.

3) Speakers and related booths/tables dealing with Universal Health care, Employee Free Choice Act, Green Jobs, etc.

4) Address from Gov. Quinn and some of the local legislators; still awaiting word from White House and Sec. of Labor Hilda Solis.

5) Musical entertainment and some spoken word routines.

From the AFSCME Website:

August 6th, 2009