Good morning, sisters and brothers. It is great to be back in Missouri. Thank you, Mike (Louis), for that introduction. I appreciate your friendship and leadership.
In my role as president of the AFL-CIO, I get to travel across the country. I meet with union members and leaders from coast to coast. I see our movement in action, organizing new workplaces, bargaining industry leading contracts and taking on the big political fights. It inspires me.
Of all the places I have gone and all the solidarity I have seen, none is more impressive than what you are doing here in Missouri. I mean it.
You’ve shown guts. You’ve shown courage. You’ve shown determination. You’ve shown us how to beat the odds and the wealthy special interests. You’ve shown us how to build a bipartisan coalition of pro-worker legislators who are willing to risk their jobs to protect ours—so we can build a stronger economy.
The corporate right-wing has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at us here in Missouri. Actually, no, they threw the sink, too. We’ve been fighting right to work since it was first on the ballot in 1978. 38 years.
We beat it then and we’re going to keep beating it until our legislators finally get the message that we don’t want the government interfering with our workplace rights. As you all know, the corporate right-is relentless. Missouri has been ground zero for anti-worker attacks. Paycheck deception. Prevailing wage. Teacher tenure. You name it.
Sisters and brothers, you have beaten back every single attack, despite the fact that anti-worker politicians control the Missouri House and Senate. You’ve done it by making labor a force in Jefferson City. If you travel to the Capitol when the state legislature is in session, you’ll see union members from wall to wall. You’ve formed relationships with elected leaders on both sides of the aisle. You’ve testified at hearings, shared your stories and put a human face on the struggle for workers’ rights. More than anything, you’ve placed your agenda before your politics, not the other way around.
As a labor movement, when we lead with our agenda, when we prove that we work for working people, and not any political party, then—and only then—candidates stop taking us for granted. When our support is based on issues, we can better hold our elected leaders accountable.
Back in Washington, people might wonder why Missouri unions are supporting a Republican. Here, the answer is self-evident. We don’t work for Ds and Rs. We support candidates who support us.
What you have done here in Missouri is part of a national movement. A new economic report shows that workers got a pay increase of over 5 percent in 2015, the first raise since 2007. 2015 also happens to be the year that 5 million workers went to the bargaining table, the most in recent memory. This is not a coincidence. When we organize, when we bargain collectively, when we stand strong, wages go up, not just for union members, but workers across the board.
We’re having that same impact in politics. Working people are shaping the debate like never before. We’ve made rewriting the economic rules the central issue of the 2016 campaign. We’ve put wage stagnation and inequality front and center, and that’s where we intend to keep them. And thanks to you, we put the brakes on the job-killing, no good Trans-Pacific Partnership. Nearly everybody thought the TPP was a done deal. It had the support of the president, Congressional leaders and an army of special interests. But the Wall Street and Washington elite underestimated our strength. Working people stood up and said: Enough. Enough doing the same thing over and over again and hoping it doesn’t hurt workers.
In the labor movement, we don’t hope and wish. We mobilize and organize. So we’re stopping the TPP. And I promise you, if that bad deal comes up for a vote after the election, we’ll kill it once and for all.
Sisters and brothers, there’s a new, brighter day in front of us. A union resurgence. But we must reach out and grab it. Our labor movement built the American middle class once, and we’ll do it again. We know unity. We practice solidarity. When we stand together, we cannot be turned aside.
We generate the power and run the plants. We teach the classes and carry the loads. We patrol the roads, stock the shelves, build the trucks and ride the rails. We do it all. We answer the call. 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.
Now listen, we’ve got an election six weeks from today. The stakes are enormous. The bipartisan, pro-worker firewall we have built here in Missouri would not be possible without a champion in the Governor’s Mansion. For 8 years, Jay Nixon has been that champion. The only path forward is to elect someone who will follow in his footsteps. Sisters and brothers, we have to make Chris Koster the next governor of Missouri.
I am not exaggerating when I say this is the most important gubernatorial race in the country. As Attorney General, Chris has fought with us and for us. He strongly opposes right to work. He will invest in education and job training. And he will always give unions a seat at the table.
His opponent won the Republican primary promising to sign right to work. To me, that’s the end of the conversation. I don’t care if he can shoot a gun. I don’t care if he used to be a Democrat. I care that he wants to take away our rights on the job. As I said earlier, agenda before politics.
Sisters and brothers, if we lose this race, Missouri will become a right to work state. It’s that simple. But guess what? We’re not going to lose. We’re going to do what the Missouri labor movement always does. We’re going to stand up and fight and win!
We’re going to fight back against Amendment 6. Injustice comes in many forms. This year, it will be printed right there on your ballot. Extremists in the legislature are pushing a Constitutional amendment that says that if you don’t have the right kind of ID—and nearly 220,000 people in Missouri don’t—you should be turned away from your polling place.
I wish I could tell you the people behind voter ID laws are just misinformed—that they simply don’t realize that voter fraud is virtually nonexistent and this unnecessary measure would cost taxpayers $17 million that could be better spent on jobs and schools. But we know better.
Voter ID laws are about one thing: making it harder for certain Missourians to vote. African-Americans. Students. Seniors. People with disabilities. They want to make working people jump higher and through more hoops just to exercise their fundamental right.
Why? Because they know when we vote, we win. When we join together, we grow our middle class and create shared prosperity. So, you tell me: Are we going to let these politicians chip away at our right to vote? The answer, of course, is no. On this, National Voter Registration Day, let’s pledge to Vote No on 6!
On the national level, Roy Blunt is running for his 185th term in Congress. Okay, it hasn’t been that long, but talk about an insider’s insider. Blunt is part of the dysfunctional Senate majority that refuses to perform basic duties like voting on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. And Roy Blunt has never missed a chance to stick it to the labor movement.
While Blunt was serving special interests in Washington, Jason Kander was serving our country in uniform. He is pro-worker, pro-union and pro-veteran. He has forcefully protected our right to vote as Missouri’s Secretary of State. I’ve met Jason. He is exactly the kind of fresh face and voice we need in the U.S. Senate.
Then, of course, we have the presidential election. Polls in Missouri are close. And the choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton—isn’t.
Donald Trump is unfit to be president. He is anti-worker. He would tear America apart. Hillary Clinton is better in every objective measure. Clinton is reliable. Trump is not. Clinton is responsible. Trump is not. Clinton is civil. Trump is anything but. Clinton has a track record of fighting for workers. Trump has a track record of ripping workers off.
Seriously, folks, listen to Trump’s record for just a minute. He thinks our wages are too high, and he has stolen our pay time and time again. Literally stolen it. He said outsourcing creates jobs. He supports right to work 100 percent. He rooted for the financial crisis and is closely tied to a new effort to gut Wall Street reform.
A business group analyzed Trump’s economic plans and concluded he would cost America 3.4 million jobs. Trump is asking us to vote for him and accept more unemployment—why would we do that?
And what about his tax returns? Why is he refusing to release them? Does anyone else find this fishy? Does Trump have money stashed overseas? Has he failed to pay his fair share? Is he somehow invested in Russia? He certainly talks about Vladimir Putin enough.
Hillary Clinton is without question the better choice. Now, I know there’s some skepticism about her. She’s been scrutinized and poked and prodded for the better part of 40 years. But when you peel back the layers, you’ll find a public servant that has always looked out for working people.
The same business group that gave Trump’s plan an F-minus gave Hillary Clinton an A+. They say she would create 10.4 million jobs, and her website tells us exactly how she’ll get it done.
Hillary Clinton wants the largest investment in infrastructure since World War II, which will create millions of jobs and strengthen our economy across the supply chain. She has a detailed plan to educate and train workers for careers of the future, boosting our competitiveness in the global marketplace. And when it comes to workers’ rights, she knows the single greatest tool for economic mobility and a growing middle class is collective bargaining.
Hillary Clinton is the right candidate at the right time. Our nation is rediscovering unionism. This is our chance. This is our moment. To bring out the best in America. To bring out the best in ourselves, and each other. We won’t back up or back down. We’ll stand tall. We’ll mobilize. We’ll organize. We’ll register. We’ll vote. We’re winning the debate. Now it’s time to win the election!
When I spoke at your convention two years ago in St. Louis, it was shortly after Michael Brown’s death. What happened in Ferguson that summer sparked a national firestorm, one we are still living through today. Recent events in Charlotte, Tulsa, Dallas, Baton Rouge and St. Paul have shaken us to the core, threatening to further divide our communities.
I’ll repeat now what I said then: we must clearly and openly discuss the reality of racism in American life. To your credit, you have embraced this challenge head on. You hosted an AFL-CIO Race Commission hearing in St. Louis where people of all colors came together to have an honest conversation, listen to each other and identify solutions. You are creating ladders of opportunity through your Building Union Diversity program. BUD has been recognized by Vice President Biden and other top leaders. These are great first steps. I want to challenge you to do more. Take bold action to truly broaden the labor movement. Fill every one of those BUD slots. Continue to make it clear there can be no economic justice without racial justice. Let communities of color know the labor movement is their movement.
Mike, I also want to recognize your great work emphasizing industrial manufacturing. You’ve reached out to Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt to learn more about their training program. You are working to increase and improve registered apprenticeship opportunities for women, veterans, people of color, young workers, ex-offenders and individuals with disabilities. This is not only the right thing to do, it will help you organize, grow your membership and become more diverse.
Sisters and brothers, there is more that unites us than divides us. We can all agree that being a police officer is a noble profession that deserves good wages, great benefits and respect on the job. We can all agree that officers who abuse their badge should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We can all agree that every worker—regardless of how they look, where they come from, or who they are—deserves the opportunity to build a better life.
In these difficult times, we must resist the urge to become divided. Here in Missouri, you know this better than anyone—united we stand, divided we fall. For centuries, employers have tried to divide us for their own benefit. They know that if we fight each other we won’t be strong enough to win a fair share of the wealth we help create. Racism, sexism, all of the other isms—they are about holding us down and keeping us poor. We simply cannot allow it to happen.
So in the end, this is more than just an election. It's about where our country is going. It's about what kind of nation we're going to be, an America that says you are mine and I am yours, or one that governs by dividing and fanning fears.
By standing together, and defining American values for the ages, we’ll defeat the misguided, petty and unnecessary politics of division and disunity.
To make that happen, the labor movement has unleashed the most comprehensive and sophisticated electoral program in our history. We need your help. Talk to your members. Send out your release staff. I want the union vote to reach unprecedented levels. 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. There is a canvass this afternoon. Let’s knock some doors and win some votes.
The corporate right-wing is pumping millions of dollars into Missouri. But this race is going to be won on the ground. When your membership gets involved, nothing can stop us. When you get behind Chris Koster and Jason Kander, the sky is the limit. When working people speak the truth about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, we will move the needle. When you get out to vote, you can protect that right for every single Missourian.
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 results are in, we’ll be in a better position to improve our communities, to organize in the workplace and to win strong contracts and better pay.
We’ll fix what’s broken in America. Together, we will create a better tomorrow. We’ll work for it, sisters and brothers. Each of us. With solidarity. Where your picket line is my picket line and my picket line is your picket line. Pipefitters with UFCW. Steel with Nurses. Painters and Electricians. All of us together. 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! God bless you!
