HR0388 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0388 LRB095 12058 KXB 35791 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to honor Helen Miller, President of Service Employees International Union Local 880, for her hard work and dedication; and

WHEREAS, Helen Miller has been a member of the Service Employees International Union Local 880 for 22 years and has held the office of President for eight years; from her own work as a personal assistant providing in-home care to people with disabilities, she became the leader of the largest union local in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, She was elected to the SEIU Illinois Council in 1999 and elected Sergeant-at-Arms in 2003; she was a founding member of the personal assistant organizing committee, which in 2003 negotiated a historic first contract with the State of Illinois that brought a 35% wage increase and a strong voice to 23,000 workers; and

WHEREAS, Helen Miller was recognized as a 2004 recipient of the Ms. Foundation's Gloria Award and a 2005 recipient of the Women's E-News award for her leadership in ensuring that home care workers are "invisible no more"; and

WHEREAS, In 2005, she led the first campaign in the nation to unite more than 40,000 home child care providers in our State for quality care and quality jobs and winning a 35% rate increase and a commitment to fund health care for home child care providers; and

WHEREAS, She is a recognized community leader in the fight for living wage jobs and a better quality of life for all working families; she was the first home care worker to be elected to the SEIU International Executive Board in 2004 and has traveled across the country to help thousands more workers beyond her home state unite in the Union; and

WHEREAS, Helen Miller has committed her life and her work to the fight for social and economic justice on the job and in the community; under her leadership, SEIU Local 880 has grown to more than 65,000 members across the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Helen Miller on a job well done; through her hard work Service Employees International Union Local 880 continues to support the people who work to provide assistance for others; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Helen Miller as a symbol of our respect.