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Honoring Kathy Black on the occasion of her retirement from AFSCME District Council 47.
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WHEREAS, Kathy Black was born and raised in a Union family in North Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Kathy graduated Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Labor Studies from the University of Oregon in 1983; and
WHEREAS, In 1988, Kathy moved home to Philadelphia and spent eight years representing New Jersey State employees in the Department of Health for CWA Local 1034 in Trenton, NJ. For two years, she served as the Governor’s appointee to the New Jersey Public Employee OSHA Advisory Board; and
WHEREAS, Kathy served as the elected President of the Philadelphia Chapter of CLUW (Coalition of Labor Union Women) from 1993 until April, 2014. While CLUW President, she served as a delegate from CLUW to the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO and held a seat on their Executive Board; and
WHEREAS, Kathy has served as a board member of PhilaPOSH (Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health) for many years and was elected as Chair (for the second time) in June, 2011. She served on the Board, the PAC and then as Vice President for Finance of Philadelphia NOW (National Organization for Women) from 1999 until December, 2015 and currently serves as Vice President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union); and
WHEREAS, In February 2007, Kathy was elected as the sixth national Co-Convenor of U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW), the anti-war organization within the labor movement, founded in 2003 in response to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq; and
WHEREAS, Kathy previously served on the Boards of Americans for Democratic Action (Philadelphia Chapter), the Pennsylvania Consumer Action Network, Citizens for Consumer Justice and the national board of Citizen Action; and
WHEREAS, Kathy chaired the Program Committee and served on the Steering Committee for the UNITY 2000 March and Rally of 25,000 protesters, held in Philadelphia the day before the opening of the Republican National Convention on July 30, 2000; and
WHEREAS, Kathy has been a leader in major issue campaigns, including Labor Against Apartheid, the Living Wage Coalition, the All Women’s Health Campaign, the Campaign for Contraceptive Coverage, the movement to end the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces, which successfully advocated for passage of a City of Philadelphia Ordinance requiring all employers to provide paid sick leave to employees; and
WHEREAS, Kathy has been honored by the Pennsylvania Consumer Action Network, Philadelphia FIGHT, United Way of SE Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia NAACP 100th Anniversary Celebration, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Philadelphia NOW. In March, 2015, Kathy was named a Philadelphia Woman of Moxie at an annual celebration of Women’s History Month established by Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown and received the Paul Robeson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bread and Roses Community Fund; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby honor Kathy Black on the occasion of her retirement from AFSCME District Council 47.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Kathy Black, Health & Safety Director of AFSCME District Council 47, as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
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