Working families mourn the loss of Ted Kennedy

Massachusetts senator led the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act and for legislation benefiting all working families.   

Washington (26 Aug. 2009) - The AFL-CIO, the largest labour organization in the United States, says the death of Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts "leaves a void in the lives of working families that will be hard to replace, if ever it can be."

Kennedy died late Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port after a long struggle with brain cancer. The last surviving member of the family that included former president John F. Kennedy, he was 77 years old and had served in the Senate for 47 years.

"Kennedy fought throughout his life with one goal in mind – to improve the lives of working people," the AFL-CIO said.

"He championed civil rights for people of color and LGBT people, better education for literally millions of kids, immigration reform, women, workers’ rights, the freedom of workers to choose a union and, of course, health care reform. Kennedy wasn’t just a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act. He helped create it and he was the first to introduce it in the Senate," the organization said.

"For some other senators, these issues were opinions. For Kennedy, they were a passion....  He called health care reform 'the cause of my life', and as early as 1966, introduced his first health care bill.... A few months later, Kennedy secured funding for creating about 30 such clinics in low-income areas around the country. The number later grew to several hundred."

The AFL-CIO said passion for justice fueled Kennedy's long senate career.

A voice for unions

"Kennedy has been rightly called the greatest senator of the 20th century. In a magnificent career, Kennedy achieved considerably more than did most presidents, and he proved to be of the finest friends in public life American working women and men have ever had," the statement said.

"It may seem odd for someone who came from vast wealth and privilege, but his relationship with workers and their unions was one of deep affection and - one hesitates to say it - love. Anyone who ever spotted Kennedy at a Labor Day event or local union meeting could see it. He always listened closely to us. He understood and enjoyed us."

One of the most memorable moments – and quotations – of his long career occurred at the Democratic Convention in 1980 when he conceded the nomination to Jimmy Carter in his only presidential campaign.

"To those whose cares have been our concerns," Kennedy intoned in his famous Cape Code voice, "the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE

More information:
Youtube - 'The Dream Shall Never Die'