Good morning everyone. It is great to be here.
Leader Pelosi, thank you for that kind introduction.
I’ve worked with many Congressional leaders over the years, and I can say without a doubt that labor has never had a better friend or stronger ally than Nancy Pelosi.
Your door is always open. Our staffs work well together. And most importantly, the voices of working people are being heard in the halls of power.
I also want to commend your entire leadership team.
From Steny Hoyer to Jim Clyburn to Xavier Becerra, you reflect what’s best about our nation.
You are fighting every day for a fair economy, a just society, and an America where even a minimum wage worker can aspire to a better life.
And you keep up the fight, despite one of the most entrenched and reckless Republican majorities in our nation’s history.
Just look at the pro-worker regulations House Republican leaders tried to repeal through the year-end appropriations process. A rule to make union elections fairer; a rule to protect workers from deadly silica; a joint employer standard that reflects the true nature of today’s economy; and a rule to strengthen retirement security.
Inside the Beltway, these repeal attempts are called riders. But for working people, they are the difference between life or death, between paying the bills or falling further behind, between having rights on the job or being fired or harassed for speaking up.
Working together, we didn’t just beat back one of these attacks. We didn’t just beat back two of these attacks. We stopped every single anti-worker rider.
So on behalf of the entire AFL-CIO, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you.
We need you to continue to stand firm. We’re counting on you.
The attacks on working people are coming from all directions—whether it’s Wall Street, Congress, the Supreme Court, or even the Administration.
Let’s take the tax on union health plans, for example. We were proud to support the Affordable Care Act as a way to expand access and reduce costs. But taxing the health care plans of working men and women was a bad idea from the start. Our members worked hard at the bargaining table to negotiate quality affordable health care, often foregoing raises in the process. We shouldn’t be penalized for success. This is a solidarity tax, plain and simple. I appreciate those of you who stood with us to delay it for two years. But let me be perfectly clear: we will not rest until this unfair tax is fully repealed.
And then there is trade. Now I know this caucus has some differences when it comes to the TPP. We don’t. The American labor movement is united against this corporate trade deal, and millions of regular Americans stand with us. That’s why it took a small miracle to pass fast track. That’s why both presidential front runners have come out against it.
The TPP is a bad deal. It would drive down wages and standards at home and ship even more good-paying jobs overseas. It’s labor standards are weak, it does nothing to address currency cheating, it creates a court system with special rights for big corporations, and it would take a sledgehammer to the U.S. auto industry—just as Detroit is getting back on its feet.
As I said earlier, we will not always agree. What we can do, and what we must do, is respect and listen to each other. And I want to add that we at the AFL-CIO had an open mind when it came to the TPP. We are not opposed to trade. Like you, we recognize the importance of an integrated global economy. That’s fair. But from everything we have experienced, seen, heard, and read, we believe it is time to start over.
So on behalf of all working men and women, I implore you to use your Constitutional authority to scrap this bad agreement so we can negotiate a better one. One that works for America’s working people. One that builds our communities and creates jobs and lifts up workers here and abroad.
Being in the minority, I’m sure it feels like you are constantly on defense. Trust me, those of us in the labor movement can relate. Like you, we have to stand strong and respond forcefully to those who threaten our very existence. But we must also be aspirational.
And I am confident that you share our highest aspirations.
I am confident that you are ready to rewrite the economic rules so that working families are in charge, not the wealthy and well-connected.
I am confident you are ready to pass the WAGE Act so workers—not bosses—get to decide whether a workplace is unionized.
I am confident that you are ready to fix an immigration system that tears families apart and betrays our values.
I am confident that you are ready to welcome refugees and marginalize bigots.
I am confident that you are ready to guarantee equal pay for women and equal protections for LGBT Americans.
I am confident that you are ready to fight for paid sick leave and fair scheduling policies.
And I am confident that you are ready to win criminal justice reform so communities of color can experience mass education and mass employment instead of mass incarceration.
This is the America we must build together. Where my plight is your plight. Where hope trumps fear, and workers trump Trump.
This is the America we must build, and this year is our chance to do it.
But first, we must learn from the mistakes of the past.
There were many reasons Democrats struggled in the 2014 elections. A bad map. A fragile economy. You name it.
But in too many races, the Democratic candidate lacked a coherent economic message that made sense to regular working people—union and non-union.
Now this is not about casting blame.
It’s about working together and finding solutions so we can better communicate with our shared constituents.
The AFL-CIO has been looking for new ways to reach out to America, too, as I like to say to union, non-union, and never-heard-of-union. And to that end, the AFL-CIO invested in extensive messaging research.
What we learned is that most Americans are moved by values, not just policy positions.
On all of the key economic issues—good wages, health care, retirement security—the American people agree with us.
But as long as life isn’t getting better for regular people, the Democratic Party and America’s labor unions leave the door open for the right-wing to beat us in the messaging war.
We have good ideas—but we don’t always know how to articulate them, and too often, we don’t put them into action.
And sometimes we are so used to talking to each other that we forget how everyday people receive messages.
The right-wing is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to repeat a deceitful narrative about work and the economy.
You’ve heard it—small government, lower taxes, personal responsibility.
We need to come together and fight back with plain language of our own, and then we need to show the truth behind what we’re talking about.
Let’s provide an aspirational call to a better life that goes beyond purely financial issues, and let’s do it without relying on Beltway-speak. It’s about children and families and hopes and dreams. We need to describe real experiences instead of political abstractions.
In Washington, it’s called wage theft. On Main Street, the boss stole my money.
We need to make clear that our economic problems aren’t accidents. Human beings caused them—on purpose. And we can fix them.
The economy is not like weather. It is a set of rules, rules set by the men and women we elect.
And those rules determine who wins and who loses.
Finally, we need to focus on the outcomes, not the process.
Paid leave means more money in the bank and more time to spend with your family. Wall Street reform means protecting your house and life savings from corporate greed.
Now this new message research isn’t a silver bullet. But it will help us build long-term power for working people.
Our research comes at a time when America is in the midst of a fundamental transition.
There is a grassroots movement emerging.
I see it as I travel the country. Working people have progressed from identifying the problem to proactively addressing it.
And we are doing it with two simple words: raising wages.
Raising wages starts with the absolute truth that we should be decently paid for the work we do.
No one should make less than the minimum wage, everyone should make a living wage, and collective bargaining should be available for all workers.
Raising wages is about more than dollars and cents, though. It’s a vision and an agenda that covers everything working people care about.
Just look at what is happening.
Five million union workers across America bargained contracts in 2015, winning pay increases in the first six months alone—the old-fashioned way—by standing in solidarity for them. Millions more will head to the table this year.
Paid leave and fair scheduling are on the move in cities across the nation.
Twelve states raised their minimum wage on New Year’s Day and more will do so throughout the year.
And we’ve seen organizing victories all over America. Autoworkers in Tennessee. Journalists in New York and Washington, D.C. Adjunct professors in Pennsylvania. Airline workers in Texas.
You see, the single best way to raise wages, and keep raising them, is with collective bargaining. It’s with a union on the job.
And everywhere we can, we’re turning collective action into collective bargaining. The more union workers win, the more we’ll be able to raise standards for all working people. That’s how we raise wages across the board.
That’s how solidarity works. That’s how America can build a strong middle class, one that will lead the world toward a new era of broadly shared prosperity.
Once you’ve seen it, you’ll never forget it. That’s the edge we have over the empty talk from the corporate right-wing. Our answers are real, and we want you to join us on this path toward a better tomorrow!
My friends, we have a tremendous opportunity in front of us.
While bigots on the Republican side fight over who to deport or deny entry to America, you can put forward an economic agenda that brings this country together.
And we can all talk about it in a clear, persuasive way that wins hearts and minds, and elections.
As you win elections, together we can start to build the economy America needs.
So let’s work together! We’ll stand with you everywhere we can.
I would love to see Nancy Pelosi pick up that Speaker’s gavel again. She’s a champion for working people! Always has been!
And I would love to see the word “minority” back in Mitch McConnell’s title.
But we won’t stop there. We’re fighting for pro-worker majorities in state legislatures to control 2020 redistricting.
And of course, we are working hard to elect a Raising Wages president who will build on Barack Obama’s legacy. The time is right. The momentum is ours if we seize it!
The American people are counting on us. Let’s get to work.
Thank you very much, and God bless you, and the work you do!
