Brothers and sisters, good evening. It is an honor to join South Carolina’s 65th annual convention. My only regret is I am not able to join you in person. To shake your hands. To give you a big hug. To enjoy some South Carolina barbeque!
But I am very grateful to Brother Charles [Brave Jr.] for inviting me tonight.
And before I continue, I want to acknowledge the contributions of your secretary-treasurer, Mike Godfrey. Brother Mike, thank you for 25 years of service to this state federation, and congratulations on your well-deserved retirement. From one proud grandfather to another, I hope you get more time with your grandchildren. And never forget: your life’s work will let your grandchildren grow up in a state—and a country—where workers have more dignity. God bless you, Brother Mike!
Brothers and sisters, this convention is happening during the AFL-CIO’s PRO Act Week of Action. Over the next several days, we are having an action at the offices of all 100 U.S. senators this week. ONLY the labor movement can do that.
I can’t think of a better moment to come together to renew our commitment to America’s workers. And America’s workers need South Carolina.
Look, I know you’re running against the wind.
You have a power-hungry former governor who sold her soul to Donald Trump after she sold off the state to big businesses.
You have a governor who said the labor movement is—and I quote—“about as welcome as a Category Five hurricane.”
And you have not one but two senators who represent the interests of corporations that line their pockets—not the interests of the working people who power South Carolina.
Anti-worker politicians like them are the reason runaway inequality skyrocketed.
The inequality of wealth and wages. The inequality of opportunity. And the inequality of power.
Right now, the rich and corporations are way too powerful. And working people are way too weak.
If you need a textbook example, look at Giti Tires. Brother Fred Redmond can tell you all about them.
We know Governor McMaster brought the company to Chester County in 2017. He incentivized Giti with massive tax cuts. He enticed them with right to work and other anti-worker policies. Giti promised to bring jobs and prosperity to Chester County.
Today, South Carolina knows what we’ve always known: It was a giant scam.
When the pandemic hit, Giti took millions of dollars in PPP loans and gave workers the shaft. Hundreds of workers lost their livelihoods because the company felt it could act with impunity.
Brothers and sisters, it is time to change the power dynamics in South Carolina and across America.
I’ve got a message for Nikki Haley, .Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott: America is sick and tired of your tax cuts for big businesses and the fortunate few.
America is turning to the labor movement—the people who wake our country up every single day and keep her running late into the night.
More than 60 million Americans would join a union today if they could. But in places like South Carolina, having a fair election is nearly impossible.
Our labor laws are a century old. Today, these laws are weakening America’s labor movement, not helping us.
And the courts have relentlessly whittled away our rights for decades.
That’s why we need the PRO Act! It puts power back into our hands—the hands of working people.
Look, you’ve probably heard me or President Brave say that before.
But I want you to understand what the PRO Act does and why it’s a game changer for union members—and working people who want to be union members.
The PRO Act would allow workers to form a union freely and fairly. No more propaganda campaigns. No more scare tactics. No more intimidation.
It would make sure that workers can reach a first contract quickly after our union is recognized.
It would end the practice of hiring permanent replacements. The days of firing workers who strike would be over.
It would hold corporations responsible if they deny us our right to band together and form a union.
And it would finally—finally—ban right to work once and for all. In South Carolina. In every single state.
Simply put, right to work leads to poverty, inequality and death. You know that.
But let’s not forget: The roots of right to work go back to the Jim Crow-era.
It was designed to divide working people by race—to separate white workers from Black workers and to make us all poorer.
When we pass the PRO Act, right to work is going in the ash heap of history where it belongs.
And South Carolina’s local unions better be ready to print more union cards!
We know what comes with a union card. World-class apprenticeships. Family-sustaining wages. Strong workplace protections. A dignified retirement.
But it’s even more than that. As union members, we know we are stronger together. When you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.
When union membership is higher, worker power is greater! Our benefits are better! Our voices are louder!
The PRO Act has our opponents running scared. The employer community is calling it a “power grab.”
You’re damn right it’s a power grab.
They have too much power. And we don’t have enough. And we are grabbing power back.
We’ve waited long enough. This is OUR time.
I know you’re rallying in front of the statehouse to demand the PRO Act.
But we need to keep going after that rally ends. Send those postcards. Educate your members. Make phone calls to your senators.
I know, I know. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott have said they will vote against the PRO Act. But don’t let up on them.
You may not be able to change their minds, but you sure as hell have the power to make them worry.
Let me tell you how things work in the Senate.
Your senators listen to what you don’t say as much as what you do say.
They’re expecting us to give up on them and move on.
If we’re ringing their phones off the hook and if we’re outside their offices in full force, we’ll show them the power of a united labor movement.
Let them hear what working people have to say because Tim Scott is not just running for re-election in 2022, he’s positioning himself to run for president in 2024.
And Lindsey Graham? Well, he is just trying to be taken seriously by anybody.
So let’s hold them accountable.
This is a moment for unions because it’s a moment made by unions.
If you want to end business as usual in South Carolina, if you want to win a new era for all of America’s workers, if you want to guarantee that all work has dignity, let’s show our power during this week of action!
And let’s get the PRO Act across the finish line!
Thank you. And God bless you.