Thank you, Brother Bruce [Smith]. Congratulations on your 75th quadrennial convention! It’s great to be with all of you.
Sisters and brothers, your union has a beautiful history, and a powerful future. You work hard. You sacrifice. You stand together. You make our labor movement proud.
I know you will soon vote on whether to merge with the United Steelworkers. Let me just say this: I trust your judgment, your unionism and your solidarity.
No matter what you decide, I’m confident you will leave this convention united and strong and ready to win a better future for all working people.
That’s what GMP is all about.
Whether you work with glass or plastics, fine china or insulation, you help set the standard on good wages, a safe workplace, retirement and health care.
And the more you grow, the more you organize, the more industry-leading contracts you negotiate, the higher you can set the bar.
I mean that literally. It’s true in the workplace. Your victories send signals and set targets far beyond your industries. It’s also true in politics. When we get off the sidelines and onto the front lines, we elect candidates who share our working family values.
That’s the strength of collective bargaining and collective action.
Our agenda drives our politics, not the other way around. This year, more than ever, we have shaped the political conversation in America. Good jobs and raising wages and strong unions are front and center, and we intend to keep them there. Working people are winning the debate. Now it’s time to win the election.
Your mobilization and your groundwork are absolutely critical. Working people need it. The labor movement needs it. Your family, neighbors and community need it.
You’ll change hearts and minds. You’ll mobilize our members. You’ll convince undecideds. You’ll persuade folks who like Trump’s style to think again. You’ll communicate with your friends, coworkers and family. Remember this: Conversations win elections.
Listen, I know you’re involved. I know you do your part. I’m asking you to step it up a notch, maybe two or three notches.
In every single race, from the state house to the White House, your voice and your vote will be among the most influential in America.
We know unity. We practice solidarity. We’ll elect our union-backed candidates, and hold their feet to the fire when they take office. And 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 building site to the factory floor, we do it all. We build windows and overpasses. We 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.
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. I’m asking you to talk to your members. Ask them to volunteer and turn out like never before. If you haven’t done it already, talk to your Central Labor Council. Name a coordinator for each worksite, so we have someone to communicate with.
When your membership gets involved in the ground campaign, nothing can stop us. When your members speak the truth about Donald Trump, he will crumble like a house of cards. You know what it takes. Keep leading the way. Keep blazing a trail forward. As a national movement, we’ve been under attack so long, that I know it can be hard to get out of a defensive crouch.
But 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’ll 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!