Thank you, Stuart [Appelbaum] for that introduction and for your leadership at the RWDSU and UFCW. I am proud to call you my brother.
I want to thank the DNC, the RWDSU and Pride at Work for hosting this reception.
I want to recognize DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, DNC LGBT Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes, Congressman Mark Takano, Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, Congressman Jared Polis, Pride at Work Executive Director Jerame Davis, and all of the labor, elected and LGBTQ leaders here tonight.
And I want to welcome each of you to the House of Labor. Let’s be honest: no one knows how to throw a party like the LGBTQ community.
A year ago this month, we celebrated a Supreme Court decision that guaranteed every American could marry the person they love.
It was a profound and historic moment. But it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans can still be fired in over half of all states. Unless, of course, they have a union contract!
Religion is being used as a license to discriminate.
Transgender people of color are being murdered at rates that shock the conscience.
Our immigration system still victimizes LGBTQ people.
There has been a wave of Jim Crow-style bathroom bills.
And Donald Trump is the Republican nominee for president.
Take a second to breathe.
When I hear people ask what’s next after marriage, my answer is: EVERYTHING!
Many LGBTQ people will get married. That’s wonderful. But we all need a job. We all need to be protected from violence. And barring a medical miracle, we all need to pee.
I want to make something very clear: the AFL-CIO and the entire labor movement will not rest until every single LGBTQ person has equal rights under the law.
Our two movements share common values: dignity, respect, equality, solidarity. It is no coincidence that labor rights and LGBTQ rights are being attacked by the very same people in the very same places.
So we have to organize. A collective bargaining agreement remains the single greatest tool for fighting discrimination in America.
But our lives don’t stop when we punch the clock at the end of a day.
That’s why we are fighting for legislation like the Equality Act to ban discrimination in employment, housing, accommodations and much more.
And that’s why this year we are going to elect candidates who support worker and LGBTQ rights.
I mentioned Donald Trump earlier. What can I even say at this point?
He’s what you call a hot mess.
Trump would be a disaster for workers. He is anti-union, anti-woman, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and of course, anti-LGBTQ.
Make no mistake, Trump loves himself and hates all of us.
When he says “Make America Great Again,” what he really means is take America back to a time when LGBTQ people were in the closet, women were in the kitchen, immigrants were in the shadows and only straight white men were in the White House.
Friends, we are never going back to those days!
We are moving forward.
Under President Obama’s leadership, we have secured victories on hate crimes, military service, marriage and discrimination in federal contracting.
The next president needs to build on this foundation, not tear it down.
With her wins in California and New Jersey on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton took a major step toward the Democratic nomination.
She is on a collision course with Donald Trump this November.
As the primary season comes to an end, let’s remember one important fact: Working people set the tone for this election. The Democratic primary was about union ideas, union policies and the union advantage. The candidates campaigned on our terms and for that we should be extremely proud.
As we transition to the general election, this much is clear: working people have a clear choice.
Let’s declare tonight loudly and proudly that 2016 will be a year of progress.
And let’s put Donald Trump and his ideas right where they belong: in the trash bin of history.
So with that, I want to thank all of you again. I hope you have a wonderful Pride month. Let’s celebrate and then, let’s get to work!