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AFTRA NATIONAL CONVENTION By Staff Reporters CHICAGO (August 6, 2009) In a recorded greeting videotaped specially for the more than 240 delegates to the 62nd AFTRA National Convention in Chicago, former Chicago native President Barack Obama today welcomed attendees to the biennial gathering of the union’s highest governing body. “I appreciate the chance to speak with you as you gather here to chart your organization’s future,” said President Obama. “From the opinion makers in our news rooms to the performers and entertainers, whose talents add so much to the cultural life of our nation, the work you do is admirable and I honor you for your contributions. “I also want to applaud you for what you do every day to represent folks all across news and entertainment industries fighting to ensure that people are safe at work and treated fairly at the workplace, that they have the health care and benefits they need and the chance to earn a decent living for their families,” the President added. “In the weekend you set policies and elect new national officers, I hope you'll take a moment to remember whether it’s helping to make sense of what’s happening in the world or just bringing a smile to somebody’s face, our country is a better place because of what you all are doing. Thanks so much,” Obama concluded.
Dennis J. Gannon, opening speaker and President of the Chicago Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, was also on hand to welcome delegates saying: “Chicago is a great union town and I’m proud to represent the workers of Chicago because of our diversity. It’s what builds solidarity and keeps unions and union members strong and working together. Chicago has the great history of the stockyards, the buildings, and more, and labor has had a hand in it all. It’s because we are connected. We are one. And that gets us a long way when it comes to negotiating and to organizing. “As you know, President Barack Obama is connected to this city and when he was elected to the Senate he gave his speech right here in this very room,” Gannon added. “You are the faces and voices that carry our message to America, and that message is: We are as good as we are because we are united in solidarity.” Delegates were also greeted by AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon, AFTRA Chicago Local President Craig Dellimore, and AFTRA Chicago Local Executive Director Eileen Willenborg. “We are shaping the future of our professions at a time of great challenge, and we’re doing it together,” said Dellimore, a broadcast journalist. “I see the world in which we’re living breaking down the barriers between broadcasters, like me, freelance actors, voice talent, singers and other performers. Increasingly, we are working for the same employers. When we see the companies growing in power, we recognize that now, SO ARE WE! The executives now find themselves talking with AFTRA about several phases of their business. This week, we set the tone for that dialogue, and the Chicago Local is proud that were doing it in Chicago.”
“Chicago is the city that works, and AFTRA Chicago is the Local that works,” observed Eileen Willenborg. “Welcome to the city that has hosted the AFTRA National seven times in the eight decades of this union’s great history. We are pleased to have you!” AFTRA FACT: The reason why no Convention was held in Chicago in the 1970s is because that in 1978, when the United States Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment, the Illinois State Legislature declined with 35 other states required to ratify the amendment to make it law. The women of AFTRA responded by saying: NO CONVENTION IN CHICAGO! Tonight, the AFTRA Chicago Local is hosting the union’s traditional Convention Social at the Adler Planetarium, where guests will enjoy dinner, dancing to music by the band Chicago Catz, a planetarium sky show and musical entertainment by blues legend and AFTRA member Buddy Guy. The Convention was convened in the memory of founding AFTRA member Kenneth Roberts, who passed away in June, and resumes for Day Two tomorrow at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. |
