Good evening! Thank you Brother Larry [Brown], for that kind introduction and your steadfast leadership.
I also want to thank my sister April [Sims] for your incredible work fighting for justice.
It’s a real pleasure for me to be with you tonight.
Your work has inspired me, your dedication has kept Washington together through crisis after crisis after crisis.
We’re starting to turn a corner.
Seattle—the first epicenter of COVID-19 in America—now has one of the highest vaccination rates and one of the lowest infection rates of any major city in the country. The same is true for Washington as a whole.
That’s thanks to the work each of you has done to promote the vaccine and get shots into arms. The Washington State Labor Council, Teamsters 117, MLK Labor with local unions and labor bodies came together to host vaccination drives.
Your mission was clear: focus on the front-line workers who keep our communities going.
The labor movement in Washington—each of you—is saving lives, changing lives, making lives better...and that’s something to be damn proud of!
But as we turn the corner on the worst days of this pandemic, we know the work is far from over.
People who work in hospitality and entertainment and many other industries are still suffering from widespread job losses.
And I know unions like UNITE HERE, IATSE and the American Federation of Musicians are fighting to ensure our members keep their health insurance, peace of mind and dignity.
Look, you’ve been on the front lines since day one of this pandemic.
We all know the airline and aerospace industries have been gut punched. We’ve suffered drastic production cuts because of the pandemic.
As air travel increases and manufacturing ramps up, it’s time for Boeing to put the Machinists and members of SPEEA/IFPTE back to work!
We won’t let them ship production to other countries and send our jobs to non-union shops. Hell no! Not today. Not ever.
Sisters and brothers, despite all the challenges we’ve been through, we’re standing together and getting stronger.
Our calling now is to pass the most transformative labor law reform in generations. The PRO Act is our goal and nothing will stop us from getting it passed.
This landmark legislation will completely change the rules of the game.
It will rebalance our economy and strengthen our democracy so workers have more power, and ensure more workers have a seat at the table.
The sad fact is that corporations are too strong, and workers are too weak. The PRO Act will change that once and for all.
The PRO Act will lift up workers of color, who have been disproportionately hurt by COVID-19 and the economic crisis.
And most importantly, it will revitalize our movement!
Making organizing and bargaining easier and growing our union ranks for generations to come.
But I’m here to give it to you straight: we need your help to pass the PRO Act. We can’t afford to have anyone sitting on the sidelines during this PRO Act Week of Action.
Patty Murray wrote the PRO Act. Her bill is our bill. And our fight must be her fight.
So thank your senators and representatives who are supporting the PRO Act.
And more than that, encourage them to urge the few undecided senators to come on board.
We won’t get what we don’t fight for!
Across this country, 60 million working people would join a union today if they could.
Think about the immense power we already have. To fight for our members. To shape policy. To change minds.
Then imagine what more could happen if union density finally matched union desire.
You see, the PRO Act is only possible because of the work you all did in the swing states to elect Joe Biden, the most pro-worker president we’ve ever had.
The labor movement held our pro-union majority in the House and flipped the Senate after we went all-in on the Georgia runoffs.
The Washington State Labor Council knows all about electing champions for working people.
Your state’s entire Democratic delegation has been key to the PRO Act.
And you’re expanding workers’ rights on the state level!
You joined forces with the United Farm Workers and allies to pass the first law in the nation that will provide all farmworkers with the overtime pay they deserve.
But you didn’t stop there.
When faced with drastic spending cuts at the state level, you joined forces with allies to pass a new capital gains tax.
The wealthy have made out like bandits during this pandemic. Now it’s time for millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.
If a Washington resident can afford to build a rocket and go to the edge of space, he damn well can afford to pay his fair share in taxes.
Firefighters and teachers and construction workers should not be paying more in taxes than the world’s most powerful company.
Brothers and sisters, Americans are not just looking to us for leadership, they are listening to what we have to say.
So make your voices heard!
COVID tore back the curtain and exposed the truth of our economy. A truth that America’s workers have lived for far too long.
You see, the truth is America’s economy hasn’t been working for working people. And it’s threatening democracy itself.
Right now, we are facing a coordinated attempt across the country to curtail voting rights and make it harder for working people to express our voice at the ballot box.
Some are continuing to sow doubt in our elections by holding what they call “audits.”
In many states, we’re fighting attempts to pass voter suppression laws—little more than Jim Crow 2.0.
I’m pleased to say Washington is doing just the opposite: Your state is leading the way with one of the best and most accessible voting systems in the nation.
We in the labor movement know that race has always been used as a wedge to divide us.
But we refuse to be divided along racial lines. We will always stand together as one family with one common purpose!
The Washington State Labor Council, under the leadership of Sister April [Sims], has taken on the difficult task of educating union members about the history of racism both inside and outside of the labor movement.
There’s a lot of debate around what’s called critical race theory being taught in schools.
The American Federation of Teachers has put it plainly: teachers don’t even teach critical race theory. Teachers do teach honest history and they should be allowed to do so.
We won’t ignore our history. If we do, we are doomed to repeat it.
Our opponents want to take us back to Jim Crow and right to work and separate but equal. But we are never going back. The labor movement won't allow it.
Brothers and sisters, this is our moment, this is our calling.
To provide a better life for our families.
To lift up workers who are being left behind by the billionaires and giant corporations.
To build better and more resilient communities.
Because that’s what unions have always done. I’ve lived it. I’m here because of it. We know who we are and we are ready for our date with destiny.
Corporations tried to knock us out. But we’re still standing.
The cynics tried to count us out. But we’re still standing.
The bigots tried to shut us out. But we’re still standing.
Through COVID-19 and an insurrection. Through union busting and attacks on our right to vote.
So I have a message tonight. To the anti-worker Republicans and the weak-kneed Democrats, to the opponents of unions and the enemies of democracy: WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!
This is our country. We build it. We serve it. We run it.
And we’re ready to save it.
Democracy for all. Unions for all. Justice for all.
We are the American labor movement and we will not—WE WILL NOT—be denied!
Thank you and God bless you.