Thank you, Lonnie [Stephenson], for that introduction. Good morning, IBEW! What a crowd. Lonnie, I want to commend you for your outstanding leadership of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. You’re doing the labor movement proud. You’re doing Ed Hill proud. You’re doing your members proud. The IBEW is strong!
As I start, I also want to thank you for Liz Shuler. Liz has done an incredible job at the AFL-CIO—conserving our resources, inspiring a new generation of activists and making sure we use technology to create shared prosperity. She has brought passion and dedication to the job and given the labor movement a face and voice of the future. I am thankful every day that our Secretary-Treasurer came out of the IBEW.
Congratulations on your 125th anniversary. For well over a century, the IBEW has been a model of professionalism. You don’t just strive for quality. You demand it. Your code of excellence is an ironclad promise—that every job crafted with IBEW hands will be done with the highest of standards. You’ve brought that same commitment to the important work of organizing, bargaining and representation.
The IBEW has always understood that workers have a responsibility to help our employers succeed. But we also have a right to share in that success—to grab a fair piece of the profits we help create. That’s the flip side of the shared sacrifice we face in the hard times. Again and again, we’ve done our share of sacrificing. We want prosperity in the good times.
Looking back, I remember how your industries were hit hard by the Great Recession. But with grit and determination, you bounced back. Overall membership has ticked up. In city after city, construction is humming again. In manufacturing and energy, government and railroad, you are bringing the union advantage to communities across North America.
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. Brothers and sisters, 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. Together, we’ve stopped the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership and set the table for a new direction on trade. We’ve put wage stagnation and inequality front and center, and that’s where we intend to keep them. The Democratic Party heard our call, adopting the strongest, most unifying and worker-centered national platform in more than a generation. That’s a big deal, because it’s a standard we can hold people to. You see, we want more than victory for our candidates on November 8. We want wins at the bargaining table. We want wins in our wallets.
This is what unions do. We’re carrying on the proud tradition of a visionary named Henry Miller, who founded the IBEW at a boardinghouse not far from this convention hall.
Henry Miller was a lineman in the age of electrical streetcars and trams. He traveled this country to spread the word about how unionism could raise wages and make work safer. He knew the dangers of his job—ultimately losing his own life in a work-related accident. His message still rings true today.
Nothing can stop us when we stand together. We make our economy go. We keep our communities strong. We build great things. We harness power, and make it safe. We do what it takes. We answer the call. We don’t mind hard work. We do it with pride. We are the labor movement, and we will not be denied!
Now listen, I could not come here today without talking about the election. In 48 days, America will make a momentous decision. Will we build on our progress and continue to move America forward? Or will we sit back and let fear and division win the day? Will we elect a powerful woman who understands that America is strong when unions are strong? Or will we promote a man who has spent his life ripping us off?
One of the reasons we’ve been able to make so much progress this year is our political independence. When we put our agenda first, when we make it clear that we work for working people, and not any political party, candidates have to prove themselves on our issues. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat, Republican or something in between—if you stand with us, we’ll stand with you. And if you try to deny us the freedom to stand together for a better life, we will vote you out of office. Remember, agenda-driven politics also puts us in a much stronger position to hold our elected leaders accountable. Your party affiliation should not give you cover for a lousy voting record.
I apply these same vigorous standards to every single election. I look at every campaign and every candidate with fresh eyes. I focus on exactly how our members and all working people would be affected. This isn’t just important, it’s my mandate. It’s my job.
Brothers and sisters, the choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton—it isn’t a choice. 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.
A business group analyzed Trump’s economic proposals and concluded he would cost America 3.4 million jobs. A Trump presidency would cripple our manufacturing base and put construction workers back in the unemployment line. The same firm that gave Trump an F-minus said Hillary Clinton’s plan to invest in infrastructure and workforce development would create 10.4 million new jobs. Trump made a reality TV show called “The Apprentice.” Clinton would make real-life apprenticeship programs a national priority.
Here’s all you need to know about Donald Trump. 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%. And look at his choice of running mate—Mike Pence—who repealed Indiana’s 80-year old prevailing wage law. That was a direct attack on the IBEW.
Compare that to Hillary Clinton who worked with IBEW Local 97 in upstate New York to save the wages and benefits of utility workers at National Grid. Hillary doesn’t just talk. She delivers. She is tough. She is smart. She is prepared. And she knows that 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!
Brothers and sisters, our economy isn’t like the weather. It doesn’t simply happen to us. It’s a set of rules written by the men and women we elect.
It is time for a new set of rules. We want rules where wages are high and rising, and inequality is shrinking. We want rules that make it easier to organize and bargain collectively. We want trade rules that create jobs and shared prosperity. We want stricter rules on Wall Street and fairer rules for people who work hard yet still struggle to get by.
There’s a new, brighter day in front of us. A union resurgence. It’s so close. All we have to do is reach out and grab it.
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.
When your membership gets involved in the ground campaign, nothing can stop us. When working people speak the truth about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, we move the needle. You know what it takes. Keep leading the way. Keep blazing a trail forward.
It’s time for us to stand up strong, brothers and sisters. This electoral season is all about raising wages. We’ll hit the worksites. We’ll walk the streets and knock the doors. 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. 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. Together. All day. Every day. We’ll honor the legacy of our founders. We’ll build on what was started here 125 years ago. Union proud! Union strong! Let’s get to work. Thank you, IBEW! God bless you!
