AFSCME in Chicago -- "It's a great day to be an AFSCME Member"

by   |  August 07, 2006

By Laverne Walker -- President, AFSCME Local 505 and a member and Region 1 vice-president of AFSCME Council 31 My name is Laverne Walker-- I'm a city employee here in Chicago and we're proud to be hosting AFSCME's 37th International Convention. Today was truly amazing. The feeling in the hall when the convention began was electric -- thousands of AFSCME members -- from nearly every state in the country and Puerto Rico, standing together to take on the challenges that face us and all working people. Jimmy Smits, the actor from West Wing and NYPD Blue, was the emcee. He introduced five members of the AFSCME family and each spoke about the power of our victories and pain of our challenges. A brother from RI spoke about the fight with their Governor to keep their health coverage and keep down costs. And you could’ve heard a pin drop in the massive hall when Dennis Morgan talked about the needless death of his father, Corrections Officer Cotton Morgan -- all because his dad’s request for a bullet proof vest that fit was never heard. I watched with pride as my council's executive director, Henry Bayer, addressed the convention and then heard a powerful speech given by my Senator Barak Obama. His speech and the remarks of everyone today made me even more proud of being a public employee. Tomorrow, we'll tackle the major business of the convention – the 21st Century Initiative – which President McEntee spoke about today. This week is sure to be fun and also a lot of work. I’m looking forward to it.