Caroline Kennedy
AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention Remarks
Monday, September 14, 2009
Thank you, President Sweeney, Secretary-Treasurer Trumka, and all of the union leaders here today. Thank you, brothers and sisters of the labor movement. It is a special honor to be here, on behalf of my uncle Teddy, who asked me a few months ago if I would come today to talk to so many of his good friends. It has been a special gift these last few weeks to see my uncle through the eyes of so many people whose lives he touched. On behalf of my entire family, I thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and support we have received.
My Uncle Teddy was the champion of many great causes. From health care to civil rights, from education to equal pay, he was there, leading the fight for fairness and justice. Many people have speculated about why he was so successful. Some say it was because he was such a hard worker; others say that he was a great negotiator and able to reach across the aisle. Teddy probably thought it was because he was the best singer the Senate has ever heard.
I think the explanation is much simpler than that. Uncle Teddy succeeded because he cared about people. Every issue he embraced, every cause he made his own, was about improving the lives of people he cared about. And no one held a dearer place in his heart than the working men and women of the labor movement.
One of Teddy’s favorite things to do at a labor rally was to count up the years that he, my father, my uncle Bobby, and my cousins Joe and Patrick had spent in the halls of Congress. Then he’d proudly proclaim, “That’s 85 years of Kennedys voting with labor!” It seemed like that number grew every time he used it. But I don’t think he was exaggerating. That number kept growing because he kept fighting. In his 47 years in the Senate, he cast hundreds of votes for the hardworking men and women of this country.
And as the proud Chairman of the Labor Committee, he strove tirelessly to make our country a better, fairer place for working families.
My uncle believed that every worker—from the nurse to the airline pilot, the teacher to the janitor—deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. He knew that the fight for workers’ rights is a constant struggle, and he was there for every battle.
From fair wages for construction workers to safer conditions in our steel mills, he never gave up and he never gave in. He comforted the families of fallen mineworkers, he stood up time and again for low-wage workers, and he walked on countless picket lines. Day after day, year after year, Ted Kennedy stood with labor, because he knew it was the right thing to do.
It’s not news in this room that under his leadership, the minimum wage was raised sixteen times. Congress passed landmark legislation to make our workplaces safer, prevent discrimination, protect our pensions, and help unemployed workers find new jobs and new opportunities.
Teddy’s achievements made a tremendous difference in the everyday lives of working men and women. But he could not have accomplished what he did without each and every one of you. I look around this room and I see union leaders from Massachusetts and across the country who worked with my uncle for decades. You stood shoulder to shoulder with him in so many battles, and you shared his vision of a better tomorrow. You were his colleagues, his friends, and his inspiration.
Senator Kennedy had no greater friend in labor than President John Sweeney. For over thirty years, John Sweeney has been a tireless advocate for working men and women. He went from pounding the pavements in New York City to pounding on the doors of Congress in Washington DC. And everywhere he went, he has brought the same fierce determination, the same dedication to fairness and justice for all workers. Our nation’s workers have faced many challenges in recent years, but they have had no greater ally in these struggles than John Sweeney.
Like so many leaders of the Democratic party, my Uncle turned frequently to President Sweeney for his wise counsel and advice. But more than that, my Uncle treasured their deep and abiding friendship. They bonded over their shared Irish heritage, their common goals for our great nation, and most of all, their deep dedication to public service.
I know Teddy was thinking of friends like John Sweeney when he quoted the words of poet Yeats, “Think where man’s glory most begins and ends/ And say, my glory was I had such friends.”
As John retires from his many decades of service, his accomplishments are too numerous to mention. It is enough to say that, thanks to his efforts, each and every American worker – whether they have ever held a union card or not – will have a better life and a better future.
John, we all owe you an enormous debt of gratitude. Thank you for your leadership, your dedication, and your friendship.
I know that both President Sweeney and my Uncle Ted would agree that even as we celebrate and remember their many achievements, we must not lose sight of all we have yet to accomplish. They would be the first to remind us that working people are facing more challenges than ever. Those of us in the next generation must find a way to meet these challenges with the same courage and dedication that these great leaders have shown.
For my family, that means continuing my uncle’s work, establishing the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate in Massachusetts, to teach future generations about the causes that were close to his heart, and the great institution that my Uncle Ted loved so much.
And for all of us, it means rededicating ourselves to the goals that my Uncle and John Sweeney have done so much to advance, but which are still unfinished.
We stand at a critical moment in history, when we have a rare and precious opportunity to change people’s lives for the better. And we all know that Rich Trumka will provide the leadership we need for this time.
It is time to build a new economy that puts the needs of working families first. It is time to ensure that each and every American worker has a voice on the job. It is time to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. And it is time to make the dream of my uncle’s life a reality, and guarantee quality affordable health care for every man, woman, and child.
These are not going to be easy victories. And it is hard to believe that we must go into battle without our greatest champion to raise the flag. But Uncle Teddy always believed that, working together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
He had great faith in the labor movement and the power of ordinary working people to make a difference. And, time and again, the passion and dedication of the men and women of labor exceeded even his greatest expectations.
My uncle often drew inspiration from the words of Dr. Martin Luther King. So I leave you today with the charge that Dr. King gave to striking sanitation workers in Memphis: “Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge, to make America what it ought to be.” That is what my uncle did every day of his life, and that is what we can do every day to honor his memory. Thank you again for the opportunity to speak with you today, thank you John Sweeney for your leadership and friendship, and thank each and every one of you for all that you do to make this country great.
