I stand before this great body of union delegates to the twenty-sixth convention of the AFL-CIO today humbled and honored. 

I thank you for giving me the honor of serving as Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO. 

And on this historic day, when the diversity that is our goal at all levels of the Federation is exemplified in our highest offices, I’m humbled that you have elected me to continue serving as Executive Vice President.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

When I look back on the journey that has brought me to this history-making day in our movement, I feel compelled to first thank my union, AFSCME, for the many opportunities you’ve given me to make a difference in workers’  lives and in the broader community.     

And I thank you, John Sweeney, for having the confidence in me to fill out the term of Linda Chavez Thompson, whose historic footprint is indelibly marked in our movement’s journey forward.  

To my partners, Rich Trumka and Liz Shuler, I congratulate you on your election today as President and Secretary Treasurer of the AFL-CIO.  Rich, I thank you for the opportunity to serve this great Federation, along with you and Liz.

To my family I want to say thank you for being there for me – supporting me in all that I do – but most of all – for loving this movement and the quest for social and economic justice – as much as I do.  Thank you Willie, Angela and Chad for representing all of our family on this day.  

My family means everything to me.  Like most Americans, I’m driven to protect and care for them.  To me, that’s what our movement is really about.

We’re not just concerned about labor’s family.  Our fight is really about ensuring life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all families. 

As we engage that pursuit, our themes may change, but our mission remains steadfast. 
  
From Samuel Gompers to Richard Trumka, the mission of our movement has been to improve the economic conditions for workers – and by doing so we strengthen our communities, our nation and our world.

As Gompers once said,  “our movement is of the working people, for the working people, by the working people”.  Richard Trumka has always led by that abiding principle.

The challenges that we face today are not unlike the challenges our movement faced in the past.  They struggled as we do against corporate greed and reckless profiteering.  Their self-serving corporate model stands in stark contrast to our commitment to shared prosperity.

We are reminded of this by a statement made by Lee Scott, the former CEO of Wal-Mart, who demonized
Employee Free Choice to a group of his peers.

“It’ll be generations in the impact it has on this country. And it won’t be positive,” he railed.  “I guarantee you that. But for Wal-Mart..we’re going to run this business. We like driving the car, and we’re not going to give the steering wheel to anybody….”

Well, for Lee Scott and other CEOs like him, they can be assured that when we pass Employee Free Choice, employers are going to have to share the wheel with their workers – and that day can’t come fast enough.

I believe with every fiber in my body that our movement must keep on ensuring that millions of workers in this country have the dignity and respect they deserve.  That means good wages, decent pensions, affordable health care and continuous job training.  If we don’t fight for these securities, who will?

The power is in our hands – Our army may not be as large as it once was – but our fighting spirit is stronger than ever.  Because the needs of workers are as great as they’ve ever been. 

Let’s face it.  The current system is broken.  So together we’ve got to fight to fix it like our lives depended on it.  Because they do.

We’ve got to fight like never before to level the playing field between companies and their workers – beteween Wall Street and Main Street.

When I think about the opportunity you’ve given me to be a part of this leadership team with Rich and Liz and all of you, I really get excited.

I’m excited when I think about our prospects, once we pass the Employee Free Choice Act; the opportunities it can open up for a new generation to  have a voice at work. 

The possibilities it creates in our quest for justice if we organize millions of new allies, armed with the bargaining power to fight for workers rights, civil rights and human rights.

With the passage of Employee Free Choice we will ring in a new generation of opportunities for workers and a new wave of allegiance to our movement.

They will be younger, they will be more diverse – and they will have an opportunity to win the benefits they deserve because they’ll have the chance to bargain a union contract.

I may not have been to the mountaintop, but I have seen the glimmer of hope in the eyes of young people in the upcoming generation. 

 Last month I listened to a young man and woman, both from ethnic backgrounds, speak to the Machinist Union Transportation Conference about the rigorous academic program they had completed at Aviation High School in New York.

That program not only prepared them for college, it gave them the skills and training necessary to obtain a High School Diploma.  It got them an Airframe and Power Plant Mechanical License. 

The FAA requires this license and those students who have obtained it are now allowed to maintain, inspect and sign logbooks verifying that airplanes are safe to fly after mechanical maintenance has been done.

 These two young people spoke with great pride about their principal, their teachers and the Machinist Union that helped mentor them – and find them jobs in the industry. 

A young lady named  Ana Sanchez also spoke with great passion about her teachers and the learning environment  – and the added opportunity they’d been given by the Machinists to attend a program where they learned about the role of unions and the impact the global economy has on the entire world community.

As I listened to Ana, who had such poise and confidence, I couldn’t help imagine what it would be like if we had lots more partnerships with our unions, our schools, our unionized companies, and our communities…

How wonderful it would be to have more people like Ana in our unions.  

Right here in Pittsburgh a few blocks from this convention center, I had the pleasure of meeting Pittsburgh Housing Authority residents who were trained by Steelworker Health and Safety Instructors in a room bearing the name of A. Phillip Randolph.  Nine out of the 13 residents who got this training – all men and women of color -- went to work this month making $14.83 an hour.   

In New York I met with young men and women at the Apprentice Training Center of Painters District 9, who have been the beneficiaries of the Edward J. Malloy Initiative for Construction Trades.  These young men and women, a majority of them people of color, got this training opportunity through a partnership between the building trades and the schools. 

One young man I met who was about to complete his apprenticeship and become a painter said that what he’d learned at that training center had given him a confidence that he never thought he had.  You see, his horizons are wider now, his dreams are flourishing, because he has a skill and the opportunity to get a good job.

I believe our mission now is to create a new generation of opportunities for millions of young people like those I’ve met. A new generation of good jobs, right here in America.

I believe that it’s possible for home care workers to become nurses.

I believe it’s possible for childcare workers to become teachers.   The list of possibilities is endless.

Within the next few months, women will become half of the workforce. And on this historic day, thanks to Rich and all of you, women have become 2/3s of the team that will lead the AFL-CIO.   

As a woman I know that there is still work to be done on the issues that affect millions of working women, as there is for all our families.  And it’s well past time to get that work done.

This is our time – time for the labor movement to renew the promise of a better life for millions in our nation – men , women, immigrants, people of color, the disabled, gay and straight. 

Our movement is more than their best hope; building union power is the best way to build a stronger democracy.  And the best way to build union power is with a united Labor Movement.

Years ago, when I went to work in this movement one of the people my mother worked for as a domestic worker was a Texas Poultry Farm owner.  He told my mother that I had made a big mistake going to work for that union. 

Well that Texas Poultry Farm owner was dead wrong then and he’d be dead wrong now.  I’m glad that I stuck with my union stuck.  And my union stuck with me.
 
So, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity to serve with Rich and Liz, and to serve all of you as we work to win opportunities for a whole new generation of workers. 
Let’s make the hopes and dreams of millions of them a reality.    Let’s renew the American dream for working people.

Thank you and God bless our Labor Movement.