Trade union leader Graeme Kelly, of Bundeena, says being awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) is “very humbling”.
“From where I grew up, in Green Valley in western Sydney, not many people get these awards,” he said.
Mr Kelly is general secretary of the United Services Union, representing 33,000 local government, energy, airline and clerical and administrative employees throughout NSW.
He is on the executive of the national body, Australian Services Union, which is one of Australia’s largest, with 130,000 members.
Mr Kelly is also a leader of the ALP, sitting on the national executive and recently being elected to the national board.
He started work as a labourer on Canterbury Council in 1977 and, for 10 of his 14 years there, was the local union representative.
In 1990, the secretary of the Municipal Employees Union asked him to become a full-time official, and he hasn’t look back.
Mr Kelly said his OAM was “really an honour for the union movement”.
“I dedicate this award to the 33,000 members of the United Services Union as well as my mother, who always believed in me,” he said.
“My work is a labour of love and a privilege.
“I get up every day knowing I am going out there trying to achieve on behalf of those who can’t speak for themselves.”
While union membership is generally in decline, Mr Kelly said his organisation was “bucking the trend”.
“We are growing, and that is because there are many employers out there who are taking advantage of the industrial climate and economic climate, and employees are having wages stolen and are not getting their superannuation.”
Mr Kelly was president of the Bundeena RSL Memorial Club from 2000 to 2010 and was asked to return to the board when the club merged with Cabramatta Bowling Club last year.
He said the club, which was renamed Bundeena Community and Services Club, was trading strongly and had “exceeded all expectations”.
