1199SEIU Members in Massachusetts Remember Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
Hundreds of tearful 1199SEIU members in Massachusetts lined the streets of Boston Thursday, clutching purple signs with a simple message: "Thank You Teddy."
The action was part of an outpouring of love, respect and gratitude by healthcare workers for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who died late Tuesday after a long and courageous battle with brain cancer at 77.
1199SEIU joined other labor organizations and tens of thousands of grateful citizens who lined the route from Kennedy's home on Cape Cod to the JFK Presidential Library – saluting the Senator as he made one final trip through his beloved city of Boston.
As the motorcade entered the city -- passing over the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, the park Sen. Kennedy helped to create to give mothers and their children green space in the heart of the bustling metropolis -- many were overcome with emotion, sadness and appreciation for the Senator who had spent the last 47 years standing beside and fighting for the working class.
After watching the hearse pass by and greeting members of the Kennedy clan, 1199SEIU members then marched to Faneuil Hall – joining Boston Mayor Tom Menino in ringing a bell on the steps of City Hall Plaza 47 times – to commemorate each of Kennedy's years in the U.S. Senate.
The Kennedy family then headed past the JFK federal building, home for decades of Kennedy's Boston office, and then to Dorchester Street and into South Boston and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Dorchester. Sen. Kennedy will lie in state as thousands come to pay their respects -- just steps away from the 1199SEIU Massachusetts Division headquarters -- until Saturday morning when funeral services will take place.
Throughout his storied career, Sen. Kennedy stood with members of 1199SEIU to fight for dignity and respect for working people everywhere. From his first major speech in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to his last vote on President Obama's economic recovery plan, Kennedy's devotion to social justice and public service bettered the lives of every citizen of the United States.
Because of Kennedy's work, millions of children have access to health care, crucial immunizations, Head Start programs, and grants and loans to make college more affordable. Unemployed workers have access to COBRA and low-income mothers are able to get food, health care and other resources for themselves and their children. People with disabilities are treated with respect and dignity and workers are protected by the minimum wage. He stood with millions of hardworking immigrants fighting for comprehensive immigration reform.
And Kennedy proudly stood with 1199SEIU in support of the Employee Free Choice Act to ensure every worker had the right to form a union – free of intimidation or retaliation.
But most important to Sen. Kennedy was protecting the health of the citizens he served. It was 39 years ago when he introduced the first bill to overhaul our nation's healthcare system in an effort to provide affordable healthcare coverage for all Americans -- an effort he called "the cause of his life." And even in his dying days, he flew to Washington D.C. to cast crucial votes to protect seniors from cuts to Medicaid.
Although he did not live to see the passage of healthcare reform in Washington D.C., 1199SEIU members pledge to honor his memory by working even harder to win quality affordable health care for every American.
“The spark still glows. The journey never ends. The dream shall never die.”