August 31, 2002
Saturday - 8:40 pm

Dear Editor and Ketchikanites,
 
As I prepare to spend my first Labor Day as a union member I want to take a few minutes to share my pride in the American Dream with you all. 
 
I am happy to be celebrating America's Working Heroes. Whether we ply our trade with a steering wheel or a stethoscope, a wrench or a website, a firehose or a red ink pen, America's working women and men are my heroes every day.
 
This Labor Day we will remember and honor our heroes from Manhattan and all over the country who rushed to help their countrymen on that dark day, Sept 11, 2001. Despite the angst and terror they stand ready to protect us in the future, as well. And we will never forget the working men and women who died that terrible day.
 
We will honor the teachers who spend an extra few moments with students, everyday; the nurses who care for us on the job and in our homes, clinics, and hospitals; the construction workers who teach their apprentices to build our cities safely through union health and safety programs; the manufacturing workers to whom 'Made in the USA' means top quality.  We do honor these working heroes who keep this country running smoothly and safely, every day.
 
We will honor the working people who volunteer precious time to strengthen our communities through community programs.
 
We will recognize that although the working women and men of this country are the backbone of our nation's security and values, that working families have been left behind.  As CEO pay soars, the rich have become richer while the poor have gotten poorer ~ the working class pay check does not go as far as it did 20 years ago.
 
America's families deserve to be able to afford to take their kids to the doctor, yet 40 million Americans are without health insurance.
 
We deserve to retire with dignity, yet Social Security is at risk of being linked to the whims of corporate America.
 
We deserve laws and regulations that will protect our jobs, retirement savings and health insurance from corporate excesses and abuses and that will hold corporations and their executives accountable for these actions.
 
We deserve to be able to form or join unions to improve our lives. Yet employers routinely set up roadblocks to this basic freedom.
 
 I invite you all to join me in celebrating the Working Heroes by helping to focus local and national attention on the needs and concerns of working families ~ Good Jobs, Good Schools, Affordable Health Insurance and Prescription Drugs and Retirement Security!
 
This Labor Day, please take the time to celebrate the everyday heroes in your life!

Sincerely,

Geri Brady Kelly, RN,
United American Nurses (UAN-AFL-CIO)
Ketchikan, Alaska 99901

 

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