SER National Pays Tribute to Senator Orrin Hatch as a Leader with a Servant’s Heart

by Ileana Martinez | Apr 28, 2022 | News & Updates

Nation’s Service-Employment-Redevelopment Network Recalls a Friend Who Exemplified Loyalty, Fairness, and Deep Caring for All Communities
SER National today issued the following statement in remembrance of former Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, who died Saturday in Salt Lake City, Utah, at 88. Hatch was the longest-serving Republican member in the history of the U.S. Senate. His tenure extended 42 years, from 1977 to 2019. During his service in public office, he held numerous powerful positions, including Senate president pro tempore. He was a member of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hatch was an influential legislative figure whose counsel was respected by seven U.S. Presidents and nine Senate majority leaders. He sought the Republican nomination for president in 1999 in a bid that eventually went to George W. Bush. Both sides of the aisle regarded his leadership as one of a man of great faith, conviction, and dedication.
“I have lost a dear friend, and our nation has seen the passing of a great American,” says Ignacio Salazar, SER National Chief Executive Officer. “Those of us at SER National who had the privilege of working with Senator Hatch shall never forget his profound kindness and empathy for the plight of others. He understood the difference between partisan politics and sound public policy as he fought, at times as the lone voice, in support of important programs that benefitted millions of Americans, including Latinos.
Senator Hatch was a spiritual man who looked for and acknowledged the worthiness and value of every human being he met. I will never forget his abrazos, the embrace of friends that surpassed any words we could exchange. His genuine caring was driven by his own experience growing up in an impoverished family that lost its home during the Great Depression. His father borrowed $100 to buy a parcel of land where they built a humble house. This is where Orrin grew up, tending chickens and selling eggs before becoming the first in his family to attend college, then a lawyer before entering public office in 1976. He never forgot where he came from, which shaped his true servant heart.
Senator Hatch stood by SER National during some of the most challenging times. Thanks to his support and championing our work, we received critical funding to sustain projects that were both economically and socially vital. Also, his staff reflected the diversity of America, and his vision led him to establish the Task Force on Hispanic Affairs. Indeed, Orrin Hatch was a trailblazer, a courageous defender of truth, and stood for what is right above all. We at SER National are honored to have known him and shall strive to continue his legacy of service to America.”

SER National Says Confirmation of Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court is an Opportunity

by Ileana Martinez | Apr 8, 2022 | News & Updates

Nation’s Service-Employment-Redevelopment Network Calls the Senate 53-47 Confirmation A Moment When America Can Re-Commit to Justice for All

SER Jobs for Progress National, Inc. issued the following statement on the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. On Thursday, Judge Jackson became the first black woman confirmed to the highest court. As significant was that Vice-President Kamala Harris presided over the confirmation vote as the first black woman elected to the second-highest office in the United States.
 Ignacio Salazar, SER National’s President & Chief Executive Officer
“Since our founding as a nation, America has always risen to define its greater self even through the most challenging times of political turmoil, economic upheaval, or social unrest. We have been able to prevail because most Americans believe in the set of principles in our Constitution that afford us equal rights and, with those, similar responsibilities. These values extend into every facet of our lives, including education, employment, economic advancement, and the application of justice.
On the latter, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson faced tough questioning during her Senate confirmation hearings about how she would apply the law given, inferring whether her experiences as a black woman born to parents involved in the civil rights movement might bias her judgment. She faced the pointed interrogatories with steadfast dignity and unwavering conviction of her principles. Judge Jackson replied that she would conduct herself and arrive at her conclusions ‘without fear or favor’ as evidenced by her more than 600 decisions during her judicial career.
A deeper analysis of Judge Jackson’s legal qualifications demonstrates an exemplary record with fewer than two percent of her decisions overruled, an extraordinarily low reversal rate. Moreover, as measured by rulings that withstood challenges, Judge Jackson’s performance on the federal bench surpasses that of more than half of her peers across the United States. Also, her career experience as a jurist is greater than that of four other current Justices on the Supreme Court combined when they were nominated.
All of this affirms the decision of the Senate majority, including three Republicans, and the more than 53% of Americans surveyed in a Gallup Poll. Confirming Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court represents our nation’s journey in the right direction towards ensuring that one day soon, liberty and justice for all, will be a guarantee, not simply a pledge recited since 1892 and formally adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1942.  SER NATIONAL salutes Judge Jackson on her historical confirmation. We may all look forward to a greater America because of her voice and viewpoints within the chambers of the highest court in our land.”

SER National Encourages Americans to Honor Cesar Chavez Day Through Service

by Ileana Martinez | Mar 31, 2022 | News & Updates

SER Jobs for Progress National, Inc. issued the following statement on the birthday of Cesar Chavez, the Latino labor leader and civil rights advocate. He helped organize the country’s farmworkers. Chavez was born on March 31, 1927, and died on April 23, 1993. He was 66.

Ignacio Salazar, SER National’s President & Chief Executive Officer
“The power of Cesar Chavez Day is that it celebrates the lives of generations of working American men and women through the journey of one modern-day historical figure. As a man, Cesar Chavez stood not too tall, and most times, he spoke softly except when delivering his fiery admonishments to landowners in whose fields farmworkers toiled from sunrise to sundown. Yet, he ignited and led one of the most significant labor movements since our founding. He called for such simple provisions for farmworkers as clean drinking water, portable field toilets, and work breaks in the shade from the scorching sun. Cesar Chavez was every American of the untold millions, free or enslaved person, who had cleared and cared for land to feed themselves and their families since America’s earliest days. All lived by the sweat on their brow.

It is a well-known fact that Cesar never earned more than $6,000 a year for himself, and he often credited his wife Helen publicly for raising their eight children. At the same time, he traveled nine months out of every year as the leader, along with Dolores Huerta, of the National Farmworkers Association (NFWA), later becoming the United Farm Workers (UFW). Often, they relied on the simple generosity of the poorest farmworker families who opened their doors and shared their table with Cesar. At the time, farmworkers were paid 40-cents an hour, had no health benefits or pension.

Over forty years, Chavez maintained his focus on public service, and the picket lines, strike gatherings, and marches marked his path to eventual victories, albeit fleeting because civil rights, he said, must be fought for and won with every generation. An estimated 1.1 million to 1.7 million are undocumented farmworkers in the United States, and another .75 million to 1.2 million are lawful or citizen farmworkers. Eighty-three percent of them are Latino, and the vast majority are from Mexico. More than a third of all farmworkers are women. Their average hourly wage is $10.80, although many still work by the piece.

Forty-thousand people attended Cesar Chavez’s funeral and accompanied his simple, pinewood casket. Today, Cesar rests at Nuestra Señora Reina de La Paz, his beloved retreat where he walked and meditated, in the shadow of Dos Lomas above Tehachapi, California. His phrase Si Se Puede (Yes, We Can!) now resonates across the land as a battle cry of service to strive, do, and achieve, not just for ourselves but also for others. May this be our rallying cry on this Cesar Chavez Day”.

SER National Says Presidents Day is a Time to be Thankful for our Highest Leaders

by Ileana Martinez | Feb 18, 2022 | News & Updates

Nation’s Service-Employment-Redevelopment Network Reminds Us That George Washington’s Life of Public Service Is Still A Lasting Role Model

Irving, TX – SER National is marking Presidents’ Day as an opportunity to adopt and share the spirit of servant leadership exemplified by the life of George Washington, our nation’s first president. The holiday is observed on the third Monday of February and celebrates the birthday of an American who was willing to lead a fledgling democracy. Yet, he was not a professional politician and worked as a surveyor before volunteering to join the military to fight for freedom and independence.

 “The life of President Washington is one of the enduring examples that still today, 233 years later, demonstrates the courage to accept our civic duty and contribute our God-given talents and skills, even when we do not think we can do so,” says Ignacio Salazar, SER National Chief Executive Officer. “What is most remarkable about the life of our first president is that according to historical accounts, Washington could have remained in the family’s business and leveraged his aristocratic position to avoid joining the ranks with other soldiers, but he did not do so. Instead, George Washington volunteered three times, and with each of these, he placed his life at risk in serving his country. Then, after fighting as a soldier and military commander, Washington accepted the enormous weight of accepting to serve as our president for another eight years. He left office at 64-years-old, which was a very advanced age at the time. America lost him just three years. He was 67,” says Salazar.

The spirit of service to others is one of the cornerstones of SER National and the SER Network of Affiliates. At more than 200 sites throughout the country and Puerto Rico, men and women join together to benefit their communities. They are teaching aspiring entrepreneurs how to start a business. Others are helping seniors learn new job skills or assisting people in earning a high-school equivalency diploma and advancing economically. Or they are providing a head start for preschoolers to have an academic foundation. Since 1964, SER Jobs for Progress has offered these and many other programs to strengthen our country through employment and purposeful activity every day.

“Presidents’ Day is an opportunity to ask ourselves what can we do, right in our neighborhoods and our cities?” says Salazar. “Yes, our presidents take on the burden of leading an entire nation, and we can emulate their example by volunteering to help in an area that interests us. Our country’s lasting success relies on the contributions of people from all walks of life, backgrounds, and experiences working together, as did Americans in those early, challenging days of President Washington. The place to start is with ourselves and our families, and the time to begin is now,” says Salazar.

SER National Commemorates MLK Day

by Ileana Martinez | Jan 14, 2022 | News & Updates

Nation’s Service-Employment-Redevelopment Network Says Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Embodied The Hope of Our Nation’s Better Nature for All

SER National today issued the following statement in observance of what would have been Reverend King’s 93^rd birthday. He was 39 years old when he died in Memphis, Tennessee, the target of an assassination on April 4, 1968. The Baptist minister and civil rights leader devoted his life to challenging the country into fulfilling its promise of equality to include people of color in America. Also, he championed the right to vote for all lawful citizens, desegregation of both public and private spaces, and fair labor practices without regard to race or ethnicity. Today, more than a half-century since his passing, his message remains as timely as when his words were first spoken.

“Our harkening and heed to Dr. King’s prophetic vision of us as individual Americans and collectively as a nation has never been more urgent,” says Ignacio Salazar, SER National Chief Executive Officer. “He foresaw the promise fulfilled of our greatness which was possible upon crossing the modern river Jordan of inequities and injustice in America. Yet, he also understood our human flaws and frailties that lay in our path towards progress. As a clergyman, his calling was to be the activist who ignited social justice transformation, even at personal risk and sacrifice. This was the price he accepted and eventually paid.

Today, we are called to be servant leaders in the footsteps of Dr. King in our daily endeavors of work, or as neighbors in our communities, and fellow believers in our groups of faith. This day is a moment of reflection, reminding us that peaceful questioning and non-violent acts with positive change in mind are both our right and our duty. The same can be said of the millions who quietly conduct their lives as parents, spouses, professionals, and trades workers alike without any fanfare or recognition. These are the men and women about whom Dr. King said the content of their character matters most.

At the King Center located in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the cornerstone principles shared from Dr. King’s teachings is Moral Suasion.  During the civil rights movement, our nation witnessed this powerful truth of actions that appeal to the moral beliefs of an adversary or the public to convince the adversary to change behavior or attitudes. May we each learn and use moral suasion every day in our lives to triumph over adversity and be an active contributor in moving America towards our better nature. Doing so is the highest honor and greatest tribute we pay the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”