Keith Kelleher

Keith Kelleher

Keith Kelleher is the head organizer for the Service Employees International Union and contributes to Progress Illinois.

He is the husband of Madeline Talbott.

Project Vote! Chicago Coalition

As of May 11, 1992, Keith Kelleher of SEIU had attended the founding meeting of Project Vote! Chicago Coalition, but had not been asked to fully commit until the next meeting.

Progressive Chicago

A Progressive Chicago report to Keith Kelleher, dated October 27, 1993 listed several more contacts and potential members of the organization.

It stated that Alderman Joe Moore had agreed to participate and that State senator Alice Palmer was interested and was awaiting a call from Peter McClennon.

Members had been allocated people to contact;

• Peter McLennon - Chui Garcia, Miguel Del Valle, Alice Palmer and Buzz Palmer, The Altged Group participants and John Steele.
• Dan Swinney - Carole Travis, UAW, Frank Lumpkin, Wisconsin Steel, Rev. Jim Reed, Methodist Church, Eddie Burke of the Teamsters.
• Carl Davidson - Slim Coleman, Helen Shiller, Don Weiner
• Madeline Talbott - South Suburban Action Conference

Others targeted for contact, but not assigned, included Clem Balanoff, Sue Purrington of NOW, Jane Ramsey at JCUA, Erlean Collins, Westside Black elected officials and PUSH, TWO and Joe Gardner's Project Hope.

In late 1993 Progressive Chicago letters were always signed by 17 people;

• Ron Sable
• Dwayne Harris, 21st Century Vote
• David Orr Cook County Clerk
• Ernestine Whiting, ACORN
• Madeline Talbott, ACORN
• Bessie Cannon, President SEIU Local 880
• Keith Kelleher, Head organizer SEIU Local 880
• Joe Gardner Commissioner, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
• Lou Pardo, (Northwest Voter Registration Project)
• Rene David Luna, (ADAPT)
• Dick Simpson
• Danny K. Davis
• Carol Harwell, United Voter Registration League
• Barack Obama
• Ron Davis
• Carl Davidson, Networking for Democracy
• Philip Jahn, Teamsters Local 743

New Party builder

New Party News Fall 1994 listed over 100 New Party activists-"some of the community leaders, organizers, retirees,, scholars, artists, parents, students, doctors, writers and other activists who are building the NP" the list included Keith Kelleher, Service Employees International Union

ACORN

Kelleher has been a field organizer, lead organizer and head organizer for ACORN.

SEIU

Keith Kelleher was one of the initial founders of United Labor Unions Local 880 in Chicago, which later affiliated with the Service Employees International Union ( and became SEIU Local 880. Under Kelleher’s leadership, Local 880 pioneered the organization of home care, child care and other low-wage workers, growing the local from only 200 members in 1983 to over 68,000 by 2008. In 2008 Local 880 joined forces with two other SEIU health care locals and formed SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana (HCII). With over 85,000 members, SEIU HCII is the largest union local of any union in Illinois and the Midwest, and the fifth largest local of SEIU. Kelleher was elected president of SEIU HCII in 2008, and elected an international vice-president of SEIU at its convention in June.

External link

• Article written by Kelleher for Progress Illinois