Thank you, Jim [Callahan], for that truly generous introduction, and thank you for inviting me to your convention. It’s great to be here with you.

Before I begin today, I’d like to say a few words about Jim -- my friend and brother.

The fights we’re in would be much harder if we didn’t have Jim Callahan.

You all know how tough things are for unions -- for all working people.  Sometimes it can seem like nobody’s on our side, it’s as if far too few of our national leaders believe -- truly believe -- in good jobs, jobs with fair pay and good benefits. It can seem as if our labor movement stands alone for a positive vision of an America that works for people who work -- for hard-working people who play by the rules.

Well, Jim Callahan knows the meaning of work.  He knows solidarity.

Solidarity is a fascinating thing. It’s truly amazing. You can’t measure it by the ton. You can’t stack it up in the yard. But there’s nothing stronger, nothing more powerful.

And when working people stand together in solidarity, and do it strategically, there’s no end to what we can do.

And Jim, you and your union know about being strategic. Some of the most innovative locals in the country, when it comes to organizing, are Operating Engineers. And that’s important, because new members keep our unions strong and aggressive, and strategic organizing gives more people the benefits of collective bargaining, of fair pay and good benefits, and of training, professionalism, and a strong community.

And finally, Jim, you and your union stand for jobs and for progress. And in that fight for jobs and progress, I’m proud to stand with you!

So please join me in a round of applause for Jim Callahan, and for yourselves, America’s Operating Engineers!

Jim, sisters and brothers, times may be tough, but we’re facing the challenge.

The unions of the AFL-CIO are in the midst of a tough and necessary transition. We recognize that we have to change to meet the needs of working people today, in today’s global economy and today’s workplaces – and we’re doing it.

Some kinds of change are relatively small. Did you know I’m on Twitter? Yeah -- I tweet. You can tweet at me right now at @Richard Trumka – just don’t insult me!  I also send emails to mobilize our members. And I’m on Facebook.

But other kinds of change are larger and more complicated—like pioneering solutions to rising health care costs. Your Local 49 up in Minneapolis has been leading the way when it comes to improving health care outcomes for members, and cutting costs. That program up there has attracted national attention, and for good reason. Is anybody here from Local 49?  At the AFL-CIO, we featured Local 49 on our website.

And your union has helped lead the way when it comes to changing and focusing resources to make sure your members are the best at what they do --- I don’t mean just talk about being the best – I mean being the best – and equipping workers for the jobs of the future with the highest quality training.

Last week I had a chance to hear about one of your training centers – it’s in Wilmington, Illinois near Joliet.  Now, this is probably no big deal to you because you see it all the time – but I have to tell you that hearing about Local 150’s training center blew me away – anybody here from Local 150?

Well, you have a lot to be proud of.  That center has 200 pieces of heavy equipment and an indoor training area big enough for 18 big pieces of equipment to operate at the same time.  It has 30 classrooms, a construction material testing lab, a state of the art welding facility, an equipment simulator lab, a 200-seat auditorium -- and instructors are available to members six days a week.

You see, here’s what matters about that – it’s not just the buildings and the numbers -- what you’re doing there is helping working people build careers --- you help your members build a future for themselves – and the kind of future for their children that most working people can only dream of.

That’s what the International Union of Operating Engineers does.

It builds quality. It builds careers. It builds futures!

That’s what a union does!

What we bring to the table is a highly trained and professional workforce that can get the job done on time and on budget. Your members can beat the competition on a level playing field every single time!

Sisters and brothers, we’re gearing up to change and grow the labor movement!

We’re going to open up our movement – to make it easier for millions more working people to have a voice – a voice on the job, a voice in our economy, a voice in our country. 

You see, the Wall Street CEOs and the vulture capitalists -- they don’t have any problem getting their voices heard. To them, the American Dream is having off-shore bank accounts and an elevator for their cars, or a pink marble driveway.  They laugh and say how much they like firing people, because they've never worried about losing a job, about losing health insurance or a pension.

They don't know what we know. They don't know what it's like to have car loans and student loans and underwater mortgages. They don't know what it's like to work hard and still worry about making ends meet.

We’re the people who raise our children, pay our bills, and put our shoulder to the wheel, every single day!

We’re the people who haven’t given up on America, we never will, but I wonder if some people in America have given up on us – on the idea that working people need a voice.

Listen, my friends: We’re the people who make this country work! We wake America up every morning and tuck her into bed at night. And by damn, we're going to mobilize, we’re going to organize, we're going to raise our voices. And we’re going to take our country back!

Let me tell you, I’m talking about real change. We’re trying new ideas. We’re running new, independent political programs to build power for working people -- not for political parties.

We’re experimenting with new ways to get people into the labor movement. For 10 years, canvassers for our community affiliate Working America have been signing up people who don’t have the benefit of a union on the job. And now, with 3 million members, Working America is following its members into their workplaces -- to build power there.

We’re doing everything we can to rebuild the greatest middle class the world has ever known.

We have to be bigger and broader than we are today.

Brothers and sisters, our movement has to be big enough and strong enough to create the jobs our country needs – the jobs your members need.  We have to work in partnership in our communities, with everybody who shares our vision and values. And we have to be creative and collaborative enough to spark the innovation America needs. 

Here’s an example: A project that could ultimately invest hundreds of millions of dollars into new and retrofit construction all across the country. Two weeks ago, we broke ground on a retrofit of the AFL-CIO that will upgrade our headquarters building and pave the way for an entire wave of projects, financed in part by a coalition of the Clinton Global Initiative and union pension funds.

And that project—the one at the AFL-CIO—would not have happened without the creative problem-solving of your members, the stationary engineers who work in our building.

Let me tell you, we have to do everything we can to put the Operating Engineers back to work. The unemployment among your membership is intolerable, absolutely intolerable, and it’s wrong -- because America needs your skilled workers to rebuild the national infrastructure that is literally crumbling around us.

Our national infrastructure is a shambles—our highways and bridges, our sea ports and airports.

America needs to invest in public infrastructure on a scale that’s unlike anything that’s been proposed.  I’m talking about spending measured in the tens of trillions of dollars.

Sisters and brothers, it’s time for America to retool our country—our factories and power plants, our homes and offices, rail lines and vehicles, locomotives and planes, schools and hospitals.  They have to be modernized, upgraded, renovated or replaced with something cleaner, more efficient, less wasteful. And all that work means jobs.

As we rebuild America, our jobs will spur the creation of more jobs, a virtuous cycle of investment and innovation.

And America’s world-class infrastructure will make our communities more competitive in the world marketplace.

America needs jobs. Jobs matter! We need opportunities for economic growth.

It’s time for us to get up, step up and stand together to make it happen. We can do it if we work together, if we listen to each other. I know I don’t have all the answers, but I am willing to listen to any idea, from anybody.

My sights are set on one thing, and that’s an America that works for working people.

My friends, what we want is not too much to ask. A good chance for a decent life. Fair wages. Health care. A secure retirement. Education, and a better life for our kids and grandkids.

That’s not too much to ask for the working people who drive the trucks and build the roads and teach our children and care for our sick. That’s not too much to ask for the people who answer the call. Who rise to the task. Every single time!

We do what it takes, no matter what the price, no matter how high the cost. Because this is our America!

Sisters and brothers, we have come too far to be turned back now. We won't back up. We won't back down. We won't be turned aside. And we will not be denied!

Listen, you know what I stand for. I’m not going to run through the list.

Instead, I want to leave you with these few thoughts. Working people in America today are motivated. We’re activated. We’re energized. Quite frankly, we don’t have a hell of a lot of choice. And I absolutely do believe we’ll come out on the right side of these fights, stronger than ever before.

A common thread runs between the members of all our unions, between working people everywhere, and between all of our issues -- issues like transportation, education, energy and jobs; issues like comprehensive immigration reform and protecting Social Security and Medicare.

This is about fundamental American values -- our belief in the dignity of work -- all work, our faith in basic American principles -- like the spirit of democracy and activism.

Brothers and sisters, these values and principles connect us all, and they have been a winning combination in American history since before the founding of our great nation -- they’ll never go out of style.

Working people want and need progress in America today, and that’s what we aim to achieve. 

We’re going to take America back.

To take it back, we’ve got to want it, we’ve got to work for it.

We have to stand for it. We’ve got to fight for it.

We’ll bring out the best in our county. And in ourselves. To build the future we know we can have, we must have, for each of us, for our children, for our grandchildren. And we will never, ever, give up. We will always, always, go forward.  And together, we will win, for our children,  for our families, for our future, for our country.  That’s how we’ll go forward. That’s how we’ll win. Together! Together!

Thank you! And God bless you!