I am a rank and filer and a union officer. Everyday I provide services to consumers. That is my job. Our members, many of them work the same jobs until retirement, provide professional services and care to ten of thousands of New Yorkers, performing the jobs that few wanted to do in the past because the pay was low and only rewarding because we care for the those in need.

And as a union officer I am aware that working families are being shackled by declining standards of living due to high prices for medical benefits, fuel and other rising costs. It is the job of trade unionists to be active to fight for good contracts and to be aware of the evolving political and social environments facing working families.

We win good contracts when our membership is active and involved with their union. Our Head Start, day care, home care and other locals have some of the highest wages and benefits in the nation, not because we were patient and waited for grace but because we fought for our members again and again.

The only way the Union will be successful is for all of our members to be active in their union. Become a shop steward, attend local union meetings, and become fervent during contract negotiations and grievance hearings and other union actions.

New York State has one of the strongest and largest labor forces in the nation. It is not by accident. New York State has a history of organizing and we must all do our part to insure that our union, District Council 1707 continues its progressive tradition of fighting hard for our members and working families in general.

Kim V. Medina was born and raised in the Bronx and is a 1983 graduate of Christopher Columbus High School. She attended LaGuardia Community College/CUNY where she received an Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts. Kim's academic area of concentration was Psychiatric Social Work with a specialization in mentally retarded adults.

Kim comes from a long line of trade unionists. Her paternal grandparents were from Puerto Rico and relocated to New York. Her grandfather helped create the Hispanic Postal Association and served as its first Secretary-Treasurer. This was a component of the American Postal Workers Union's local affiliate in New York. Kim's father was a shop steward in the New York District Council of Carpenters and was a tradesman for more than 40 years.

Kim's maternal grandparents moved to New York from Hawaii. They were musicians and members of the NY Musicians Union. Her mom was a meat wrapper and member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Kim's siblings belong to the following unions and many serve as shop stewards in these unions: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3, Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, NY Fire Department (Lieutenant), Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers Union, American Federation of Teachers (Illinois) and the Public Employees Federation.

Kim has worked for the Association for the Help of Retarded Children (AHRC) for almost 20 years. While working at AHRC, Kim became involved in Local 253 and has served as its local president since 1996. Prior to that, she served as Chair of the Elections Committee, Member-at-Large, and Secretary-Treasurer. In 2001, Kim became President of the District Council 1707 and was re-elected in 2005.

Kim is involved in many activities, including volunteer work with the Bronx Youth Ministry (children 4-18) for ten years and is an active member of the Church of God's Children located in Coop City. Kim also serves on many labor committees and organizations including AFSCME's Judicial Committee and its Women's Advisory Committee as well as the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, the Coalition of Trade Union Women and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.