Thank you for that kind introduction.
Let me begin by saying “Thank You.”
Now, I know that might seem premature.
I know there are still two more days to go -- two more days before we get the chance we’ve been waiting, and working toward for so long.
But I also know how much work you’ve done already -- how many phone calls you’ve made -- how many streets you’ve walked and how many doors you’ve knocked on.
We’re right on the brink of making history.
At no other time will working people have the kind of chance we have on this Election Day.
The past 6 years have been nothing less than a nightmare for union members and working people and their families.
There’s a lot of people to thank for that. From the President, to the Congress to the Supreme Court.
It has been an uphill battle for us, the workers.
In Washington, DC, I’ve watched as the Department of Labor has been used against workers at almost every opportunity – the very citizens that department is supposed to protect, they don’t.
From their highly publicized rulings that eliminated OT for hundreds of thousands of workers to the audits and investigations that drained union treasuries and left good representatives exhausted trying to keep up with endless petty requirements.
And don’t, let anyone tell you that those rules were in response to loose oversight or that unions needed to answer to some higher standard.
Make no mistake this Department of Labor sees unions and union members as nothing less than enemies of the state.
That is exactly how they see us.
And that is just one reason why their time is nearly up.
Their Pink Slip will be delivered on November 7th.
Depending on where we come from, or where we work, I’m sure we all have our own issues that burn hot for us.
If you have elderly parents, you’re probably mad as hell over the Medicare nightmare that was forced upon them.
From the way that whole program was rammed through Congress by Tom DeLay to the revelations about the billions that pharmaceutical companies stand to gain.
If they did nothing else over the past 6 years, the Medicare Scam is reason to bounce them out of office.
But there’s more – “lots more.”
Few things are more outrageous than how airline executives in this country made off with the pensions of tens of thousands of airline workers.
And that was after they collected hundreds of millions in aid in the wake of the 911 attacks.
And did even one penny of that aid get to the workers who were losing their jobs?
No it did not. Those airline executives ended up paying themselves “performance bonuses” for cutting jobs, ripping up contracts and stealing – yes stealing – the pensions of tens of thousands of airline workers.
I don’t know about you, but I believe those executives have a debt to pay.
I think that anyone -- in the airlines -- at the auto companies or anywhere else -- who robs a worker of his or her pension, should be thrown in jail like the thieves they are.
And it shouldn’t be any white collar, country club jail either.
Because my union, the IAM, has so many members in the airline industry, I’m more than a little familiar with the ordeal they’ve been through.
And I’m glad to report that we were able to protect nearly all our members from having their pensions shredded. But it wasn’t easy, and there was no help from the White House.
I’m so proud of that effort. It shows what we can do when our backs are up against the wall.
But that’s the thing that is so troubling about the past few years.
We have had to work so hard and to sacrifice so much – just to hang on to things that were already ours.
“And that’s not right.”
We should have been spending our time and our effort improving the lives of our members.
We should have been building better and safer workplaces for the next generation.
We should have been an example to the rest of the world about how a great industrial democracy treats its citizens and its workers.
Instead, our government was acting in concert with global corporate interests who have no allegiance to any country, any cause or any conscience.
Their sole ambition has been to take advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity to turn back the clock on decades of social progress.
And they came damn close to doing it.
“But the clock is running out for them.”
The buzzer is just about to sound.
And the opposing team is just about to take the field.
That’s us brothers and sisters. Ladies and Gentlemen, that’s us.
The only thing that can prevent us from sweeping the House and maybe even the Senate is if our members are so exhausted and so dispirited from years of abuse that they stay home on Election Day.
It’s our job to make sure that doesn’t happen.
It’s our job to convince our members that a golden opportunity is at hand.
Because it truly is.
I’m sure you’ve heard it before – that this is the most important election in our lifetime.
But I think this may be one time when it’s not only true – it’s an understatement.
Because if we don’t prevail in this election, if we don’t put the brakes on this run-amuck Congress with it’s corporate agenda, we’ll be in for an even rougher time than we’ve seen over the past few years.
I don’t think I have to go into the details of what we can expect from 2 more years of an unrestrained Bill Frist, Denny Hastert, Karl Rove and the rest.
But I’m not going to waste another second on that gang of thieves.
I am asking you – “have you had enough?”
- Outsourcing Our Jobs
- Of the Endless War in Iraq – It’s more dangerous now than ever.
- Unfair Trade Deals
- Rising Cost of Health Care
- Shrinking Paychecks
“Have you had enough?”
- Not to Mention the Rising Cost of Gasoline - and the recent drop in price until the elections are over.
Did you know the -
- Average American today pays 13.9% of their Income for their Debt?
We have opportunities across this state and our country that we haven’t seen in years. It’s up to us to seize this moment to ensure victory at the polls on November 7th.
This election and our endorsed candidates could stop the outsourcing of our jobs.
- Stop the Unfair Trade Deals.
They could -
- Contain Health Care Costs.
- End the War in Iraq, bring our troops home.
- Stop the Windfall Profits from Gasoline Sales.
Yes – I want us to win in this election because, quite frankly, it’s pay back time.
Yes, the next move is to send white collar jobs overseas at 70% lass in pay.
I want it for every time I picked up a newspaper and read about another company closing down and sending good jobs of our members overseas.
I want it for every time I’ve heard about senior citizens going without medicine because they can’t afford it.
I want it for every time I watched people gag at the gas pump and then turned around to read about how many billions the oil companies made.
I want it for the miners and their families who fought the good fight.
I want it for the Steelworkers and their families who lost their jobs to China.
I want it for every soldier and every soldier’s family – God bless them all.
And I want it for us too. I want to be a part of the generation that stood up to our greatest challenge – and prevailed.
And I want it because it’s high time for some justice and pay back for working people in this country.
We’ve waited long enough.
Let’s elect Tom Barlow and other Democratic candidates who will stand with working people and their families.
Thank you one and all.
