Not only did the Green Bay Packers bring home a win against the Bears on Sunday, but union leaders were honored for their work partnering with the National Child Identification Program, an initiative to make it easier for union members and their families to be prepared if faced with the unthinkable – a missing child.
Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale was part of the labor group honored, accepting the award on behalf of the Illinois State AFL-CIO and Illinois State AFL-CIO President Tim Drea, Secretary Treasurer Pat Devaney, and President Emeritus Michael Carrigan. Honorees included IBEW President Lonnie Stephenson; IBEW Executive Assistant to the International President, Sherilyn Wright; Todd Lair, Vice President of the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association; Rusty McAllister, President of the Nevada AFL-CIO; Kenny Hampshire, President of the National Child ID Program; Attorney General of Nevada Aaron Ford; Packers Hall of famer Jerry Kramer; and Mark Murphy, President and CEO of the Green Bay Packers. All were honored during the ceremony to recognize organized labor’s contribution to the National Child ID program.
“Out on the frozen tundra, accepting an award on behalf of the Illinois AFL-CIO for labor’s work helping to keep kids safe,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO. “The labor movement is all about protecting and promoting working families. With these kits from the National Child ID Program parents can be prepared. The key thing is parents control the information. Great work President Drea, Secretary-Treasurer Devaney, and President Emeritus Carrigan at the Illinois AFL-CIO – it was an honor to accept this award on your behalf – and an added bonus to beat the Bears at the same time!”
The National Child ID Program is an at-home fingerprinting kit. The parent is responsible for preparing and storing the kit and will only turn over to law enforcement if the child is reported missing. The child identification program was started by the American Football Coaches Association in 1997, about one year after the murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman in Arlington, Texas. Police efforts to locate Hagerman, whose body was found four days after she was abducted, were slowed by a lack of fingerprints and DNA information.
“You and I know there is nothing more important to us than our children’s safety,” said International President of the IBEW Lonnie R. Stephenson, who was part of the ceremony at Lambeau Field. “And yet, most of us aren’t prepared if something happens to them. We are working to change that.”
The IBEW is providing about 750,000 child identification kits to local unions, which distribute them to members.
The Wisconsin AFL-CIO supports the National Child Identification Program and its efforts to protect millions of children. The program has been working with AFL-CIO affiliates across the country for many years to get kits into the hands of union members as well as provide financial support to offset the cost of kits.
Last June, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO formally requested this program be supported in Wisconsin in a letter to Gov. Tony Evers. “As a mother of two, I think it is imperative that we have this program in the state to help us recover lost children,” wrote Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Bloomingdale. “Funding from the state will provide a proactive solution in cases of missing children and will assist local law enforcement in their efforts to find missing children and safely reunite them with loved ones.”
According to the Department of Justice and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, about 800,000 children are reported missing in the United States each year and another 50,000 go missing in Canada. In the United States, about 450,000 of those children are runaways. Another 300,000 are taken by family members and about 58,000 are abducted by non-family members.
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