Thank you, Brother Joe [Sellers]. It’s great to be with all of you in Chicago. Thank you for having me.
Sisters and brothers, you and your members set the standard with your contracts, with your wages, your workplace safety, your pensions and your health care. But that’s not news to you. Your theme is “Raising the Bar.”
That’s what the American labor movement does when we use our solidarity and activism.
When we raise the bar, the entire economy improves. Wages go up. Consumers have more money to spend. Employers feel the competitive pressure to do better for their workers. That’s the strength of collective bargaining and collective action. We have the power to set off a race to the top.
We raise the bar in politics, too. When we get off the sidelines and onto the front lines, we build momentum for our issues and elect candidates who share our working family values.
This year, working people are leading the national debate. We’ve put the focus on good jobs with strong and growing wages. We’ve made clear that working people should be sharing in the wealth we help create. We’ve shifted the conversation on trade. Instead of continuing to get run over by corporate trade deals, we’re leading the fight to write new global rules that lift up all working people. All of this progress is a credit to our collective strength. We’ve been able to make headway because our agenda is driving our politics, not the other way around.
This year our agenda has influenced and inspired America’s leaders more than any time in the past 50 years. That’s why I believe, more than ever, we need to throw everything we have into politics. Working people are winning the debate. Now it’s time to win the election.
When you go back to your homes after this conference I want you to keep raising the bar. Local and state elections need your energy. National politicians get more attention, but people should know our working family candidates on the local level. Those leaders can have tremendous impact on PLAs and local construction and other pocketbook issues for your members. You can make the difference. Working people need it. The labor movement needs it. Your family, neighbors and community need it.
Listen, I know you’re involved. I know you do your part. But I’m asking you to raise that bar a little bit higher. Keep pushing. Keep fighting. And whatever you do for the bottom of the ticket, do it for the top, too.
In the races for the White House and for Congress, your voice and your vote will be among the most influential in America.
We know unity. We practice solidarity. We’re going to show America what unionism is all about. We’ll elect our union-backed candidates, and after this election we’ll use our strength to organize more working people and win better contracts. We’ll get out on the picket line, and show America when we stand together we cannot be turned aside.
From the worksite to the factory floor, we do it all. We drive the trucks and carry the load and answer the call. We do what it takes, no matter what the cost. We wake our country up every single day, and we tuck her into bed at night. We don’t mind hard work. We do it with pride. We won’t be faced down or pushed around, and we will not be denied.
The presidential election this year, and elections up and down the ticket, gives us a simple choice and an opportunity to win for working family candidates. But it won’t be easy.
Now I mentioned earlier how working people are driving the debate. Nowhere has that been more evident than the presidential election.
I just returned from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. It was a truly inspiring week. Democrats nominated a ticket that opposes the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership, is committed to raising wages for working families and understands that when workers are strong, America is strong.
I’ll have more to say about Hillary Clinton and the Democrats, but I just can’t let another moment pass without addressing the orange-haired elephant in the room.
From the beginning, I said Donald Trump was unfit to serve as president of the United States. This past week, once again, he proved it. Where do I start? First, he dishonored the memory of a fallen soldier by criticizing a Gold Star family. Then, he suggested the best way for working women to deal with sexual harassment is either to “be strong” or find another job. Finally, he said he always wanted a Purple Heart, as if a military honor is something that can be bought or sold without service or sacrifice. Sisters and brothers, the last few days revealed Donald Trump for who he truly is, not only as a candidate, but as a man. Make no mistake, we cannot let him get anywhere near the White House.
Trump is not only dangerous. He’s dishonest. He pretends to love our cause. But he’s a fraud. He has no credibility. He’ll say anything to get himself elected, but he’d never raise wages or create jobs because he cares about nobody and nothing but himself.
If you took the words “me, myself and I” out of Trump’s vocabulary, he’d be speechless.
You see, even if you take away Trump’s racism, sexism and anti-unionism, you’d still have a con man who spent decades shipping our jobs overseas, failing to pay us for the work we do, devastating our communities and treating us like second-class citizens. And now Donnie-come-lately wants a spot on our bandwagon? Give me a break.
Here’s all you need to know about the Donald. He thinks our wages are too high, and he has stolen our pay time and time again. He said outsourcing creates jobs. He rooted for the housing collapse. He supports right to work 100 percent. Trump would cut taxes for the superrich and roll back common sense Wall Street reforms. The credit rating firm Moody’s says Trump’s plans would cost our nation 3.5 million jobs. That’s right. Donald Trump would make America unemployed again.
Since day one, he has disrespected President Obama. But Trump sucks up to dictators like Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump praises Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi. Trump can’t control himself on his own twitter feed, so can America trust him as commander-in-chief?
The answer is no. Not now. Not ever. That’s why on November 8, 2016, working people are going to kick Donald Trump in the ass.
Thankfully, the Democratic side has been a much different story. The primary contest between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton moved America in the right direction. The Democratic platform yielded the strongest and most unifying vision in 50 years. And Hillary Clinton is rising to meet the challenges of tomorrow with a strong vision of American prosperity.
Moody’s, the same experts that gave Trump an F-minus on the economy, gives Hillary Clinton an A-plus. Her comprehensive plan to invest in infrastructure, support manufacturing and help small businesses would create 10.5 million jobs!
Hillary Clinton has a great plan, and she’ll get it done. That’s what she does.
As president, Hillary Clinton will move America forward. When working people talk, she listens. I’ve seen her do it. I’ve seen her take in our ideas and then put them to action. It’s a wonderful thing to see. Hillary shares our vision and our values. In the end, she is running to change America, not just manage it. And we intend to help her do just that.
This is how you rewrite the economic rules. Our Raising Wages agenda makes it plain:
- Reform or kill bad corporate trade deals, and say no to the Trans-Pacific Partnership;
- Regulate Wall Street and tax financial transactions so we can make massive investments in infrastructure, public education, workforce development and manufacturing;
- And protect the freedom of every worker in America to join or form a union.
Hillary Clinton will work with us to get it done!
This is our moment. To bring out the best in America. To bring out the best in ourselves, and each other. We’ve come too far to be turned back now. We won’t back down. We won’t back up. We’ll stand tall. We’ll march. We’ll fight. We’ll vote. And we’ll win!
Let me tell you something: This year, America’s labor movement is unleashing the most comprehensive electoral program in our history.
Our strength grows from our unity. It comes from our activism. It’s up to us to motivate each other. We need your help. Talk to your members. Ask them to volunteer and turn out at the polls. I want to see union members vote like never before. If you haven’t done it already, talk to your central labor council. Name a coordinator for each worksite, so our team has someone to communicate with.
When your membership gets involved in the ground campaign, nothing can stop us. When working people speak the truth about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, we will move the needle. The choice is clear. You know what it takes. Keep leading the way. Keep blazing a trail forward.
It’s time for us to stand up strong, brothers and sisters. It’s time to mobilize and organize. This electoral season is all about raising wages. We’ll hit the worksites. We’ll talk to members. We’ll walk the streets and knock the doors. This is what a unified labor movement does. This is what it looks like when working people stand together, union strong!
And after the ballots are counted and the elections have been won, we’ll be in a better position to organize in the workplace, and win strong contracts and better pay.
We’ll fix what’s broken in our country. Together, we will create a better tomorrow. It won’t be easy. We’ll have to work for it, sisters and brothers. Together. Each of us. With solidarity. Where your picket line is my picket line and my picket line is your picket line. Shoulder to shoulder. Arm in arm. All day. Every day. Voting. Fighting. Winning. Together. To bring out the best in each other and ourselves. To bring out the best in America. To build the nation we can have and must have and will have!
Thank you! And God bless you!
