HR1198 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1198 LRB100 22868 ALS 41851 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to honor Keith Kelleher, former President of Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, for his hard work and dedication, as he retires on September 14, 2018; and

WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher's early work in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Detroit in the early 1980s led him to make a lifelong commitment to organizing for social and economic justice; and

WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher served as President of the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas from its creation in April 2008 until April 2017; he has held the positions of Field Organizer, Lead Organizer, and Head Organizer of Legacy Local 880 since 1983 and, prior to that, Head Organizer of United Labor Unions Local 222 in Detroit, MI since 1980; and

WHEREAS, In his 39 years of work as a labor and community organizer, Keith Kelleher has pioneered the organization of fast food, home care, child care, and other low-wage workers, growing Legacy Local 880 from just seven members in 1983 to over 70,000 members by 2008; he grew SEIU HCIIMK from 83,000 members in 2008 to over 92,000 members by 2014 and won living wages and first-ever healthcare for tens of thousands of Illinois workers; and

WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher was the Field Director of the National SEIU's "Homecare Task Force" from 1996 until 1998; he traveled, researched, and housed visiting homecare workers in over ten states and began the work that led to the organization of hundreds of thousands of home care workers across the country; and

WHEREAS, Today, more than 600,000 home care and child care workers in more than 15 states across the country are united in SEIU, fighting for a better standard of living for themselves and their families, joining with nursing home and hospital workers to become a national movement for quality care and quality jobs; and

WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher was a founder and a leader in the National SEIU Homecare Council, composed of leaders from over 15 local unions; and

WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher was a Board Member and then Vice President of the SEIU Illinois State Council which, during his years of service service, grew from 70,000 to over 120,000 members; and

WHEREAS, As an organizer, Keith Kelleher has been privileged to train hundreds of rank and file leaders and organizers throughout his career; and

WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher helped found the Helen Miller Member Education and Training Center (METC), which has trained thousands of home care and child care workers, as well as the SEIU HCIIMK Homecare and Childcare Health Trust Fund, which brought first-time health care to over 15,000 home care and child care workers; and

WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher was active in several grassroots organizing initiatives, including the Grassroots Collaborative, "Fight for $15" and "United Working Families"; and

WHEREAS, Keith Kelleher was active in the "Chicago Jobs and Living Wage Campaign" and the "Big Box Living Wage Campaign" from the 1990s until the 2000s, which led to the increases in the Chicago and Illinois minimum wage and benefitted hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Chicago and Illinois Workers; and

WHEREAS, In recognition of his historic accomplishments in organizing and with the labor movement, Keith Kelleher was elected as an SEIU International Executive Board Vice President from June 2008 until 2017; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Keith Kelleher on his hard work for Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas and others, and we wish him the best as he retires from this position; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Keith Kelleher as an expression of our esteem and respect.