Thank you so much, Danielle, and good MORNING, everyone! Happy New Year!
Welcome to our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil & Human Rights Conference!
I want to note upfront the unbelievable amount of hard work that goes into bringing a conference like this to life. And just to say a special thank you to a few folks:
Danielle, who you just heard from, our new Acting Director of Civil, Human, and Women’s Rights.
Clayola Brown, President of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, and Assistant to the president for strategic partnerships, who I rely on for advice and continues to be a guiding light for ALL of us.
Secretary-Treasurer Redmond, my partner in every aspect of the work—we truly are moving this federation forward together. He’s a civil and human rights warrior and the real deal. And his wife Ann is here too who is also a union activist. Not to mention our entire staff team. Who have again laid out just a fantastic agenda over the next few days. I want to thank the incredible lineup of speakers, who have made this journey from all over the country to inspire us and move us to action over the next few days.
We are here this year more than 800 strong! That’s incredible. I know some folks have traveled a long way to join us this weekend. Thank you.
And I’m going to take a second here and just run through the financial supporters who made this weekend possible:
- The Bricklayers union BAC!
- Union Plus!
- CWA! Thank you Claude Cummings!
- LiUNA!
- AFSCME!
- UFCW!
- SMART!
- American Income Life!
- IUPAT!
- APWU!
- USW!
- Amalgamated Bank!
We wouldn’t be here today without the support you all have provided.
Every year at this Conference…I am moved. I am inspired. I leave here so energized after being here in unity with every one of you.
But I think we can all feel it in the air, all around us: This year is extra special.
To be here on hallowed ground in Montgomery.
To be at this foundational place—where the labor movement and civil rights movements came together, in a way they never had before.
And it’s a very intentional decision on our part, to kick off today with this theme of “Our Voice.”
Because when you think back to what those incredible leaders in Montgomery were doing—Dr. King, and the Freedom Riders, and Claudette Colvin, and the Bricklayers, and Jo Ann Robinson, and Rosa Parks, and so many more—they were showing us how to use our voice. In all these ways, big and small, that make a difference.
Thousands of people coming together, marching together, from Selma to right here in Montgomery—THAT is using your voice.
Starting a boycott that changes this country’s history…THAT is using your voice.
Taking a seat on that bus—THAT is using your voice.
What we’re seeing all over the country right now is workers coming together in that same spirit.
Using our voice, in so many different ways:
- Shutting down entire blocks as we strike.
- Organizing and forming new unions—in industries we never have before, in places like right here in the South, where we’ve traditionally been turned back.
- Picking up a clipboard and saying: You know what, I’m going to run for office myself.
Workers are waking up in this moment, and realizing just how loud our voices can be, especially when we speak together. And I’ll say what everyone here already knows: We can’t let up for a single day.
Because there are still way too many people in this country who want to take our voice away.
Right here in Alabama we still see white supremacists spreading hate, circulating flyers in neighborhoods out in the open. And where it took until just two years ago…for this state legislature to start to remove racist language from its constitution.
Where our LGBTQ+ siblings are still not safe. And still do not have the basic rights and dignity every person should have.
And it’s not just here. All over this country there are people who want to drag us backwards.
To turn immigrants away—who want nothing more than to build a better life for their families, the same way we all do.
To take away our right to bodily autonomy and the freedom to make our own reproductive choices.
And those same forces want to deny workers—especially workers of color—they want to deny them a voice: in our elections, in our workplaces, in our society.
I’ve got news for all of them: We are NOT going to go backwards. We’re not going to be silenced.
This labor movement that we’re building…it’s ready for the fight. We were built for this moment.
Dr King said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ ”
That’s the labor movement’s calling. We’re about welcoming everyone in—people of every race, every creed, every background and orientation. We’re about building that collective strength we ALL have when we come together. And creating opportunities for economic security for EVERYONE.
We’re 12 days into a year that is going to be a huge turning point for this country. 2024.
And our voices are going to make the difference in how it all turns out.
I know we’re going to have a great conference. Are you fired up? Ready to go?
And I can’t think of anyone better to help lead us, inspire us and mobilize us, just has he has relentlessly his whole career—Our next speaker, my partner our brother: AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond!