This Labor Day finds union members deeply and actively involved in campaigning for a fundamental change in the direction of this country because they, like other working Americans, see the bottom falling out of their basic way of life -- and it’s been falling out fast in the last three and a half years under the policies of President George Bush. They see work being devalued. They see good jobs with health care and pensions becoming rare. And they see forces lined up to give more and more power to corporate interests that are driving job standards down.
As I travel the country, I see what this means for working families. The plant worker whose job went to China and who now works in a grocery store for half the pay and no benefits. The middle-aged couple who both lost their jobs and are doing everything they can to hold onto their house. The I.T. worker who trained her replacement in India, can’t find another job and has exhausted her unemployment benefits. The young couple with a child who work full-time, but don’t have health insurance. I’m sure you know the statistics, but let me just remind you that President Bush promised 5 million new jobs - - and he’s 6 million jobs behind on that promise. He will be the first President since Hoover and the Great Depression to end his term with more people out of work than when he began. But it’s not just about the number of jobs. The fact is that we are losing good jobs, and those we are gaining are not as good.
The new Census Bureau numbers show how bad things have gotten: the typical household’s income is now $1535 less than in 2000, and 45 million Americans don’t have health insurance – 5 million more than when Bush took office. With every major decision he has made, President Bush has catered to corporate interests over those of working families. Cutting the right to overtime pay for up to 6 million workers. Proposing new tax breaks for corporations that move jobs to other countries. Rolling back safety and health protections. Slashing worker training. Opposing a minimum wage increase, refusing to tackle out-of-control health care costs and passing a prescription drug benefit that helps drug companies more than seniors. Proposing cuts in after-school care for children while giving huge tax breaks to wealthy taxpayers. Undermining workers’ rights, from Project Labor Agreements to the right to bargain collectively for better standards. As Bush accepts his party’s nomination tonight, he is likely to repeat his claim that our nation has turned the corner -- but in fact President Bush has turned his back on working Americans.
In a time of a growing gulf between the haves and have nots, the single largest challenge for the American labor movement is to help working people bridge this gap and rebuild our middle class. We need good jobs - - not just any jobs. We need affordable health care and secure retirements. The union movement is leading this fight for working people. This Labor Day, we are strong, determined and stretching in new directions at every step. We’ve got new initiatives, increased efforts to help workers form unions and the most massive grassroots political program in our history to make sure the next President of our nation is one who honors working family values.
Tonight more than 15,000 union volunteers will knock on a million union household doors in swing states as President Bush is accepting his party’s nomination. We’ve never attempted anything at this scale in one major nationwide event. I will join the walks in St. Louis tonight, and more than twenty union presidents will also join the walks. As our political director Karen Ackerman will describe in a moment, our program this year is bigger, broader and more focused than ever before. Our members have never been more engaged and motivated as they see the effects of Bush’s policies on their lives - - our union halls have been overwhelmed by volunteers. Given the voting rights fiasco in 2000, we’re determined to make sure every American’s vote is counted this year. We have begun a non-partisan program called, “My Vote, My Right” which will work with allies in 32 communities in 12 states to educate citizens about their voting rights and help prevent voting rights violations. This program is already in action. We had poll watchers in Florida for Tuesday’s primary - - and will be involved in the primaries on September 7 and 14.
We’ve continued to steadily help workers form unions -- more than half a million workers joined unions last year -- and nearly two million have joined unions since 2000. Last month, 3,300 America West Airlines reservations and gate employees voted to join the Teamsters in the biggest government-run, private sector election in years. Other recent wins include 1500 graduate employees at the University of Illinois, 1000 workers at Thomas Built Bus in rural North Carolina, and hundreds of Comcast workers have formed unions with CWA and IBEW. In fact, our polling has shown a steady increase in the percentage of working people who say they would join a union if they could --- today fully 50 percent of workers in our country would join a union if they had a fair chance. But too many employers continue to routinely deny their workers the basic freedom to improve their lives through forming unions - - that’s why the Employee Free Choice Act is so important. It’s a measure pending in Congress that would allow workers to have a union once a majority sign cards or petitions saying they want one, and would replace the lengthy and flawed National Labor Relations Board election process. Senator Kerry is among the more than 30 Senators - - including Republican Arlen Specter - - and 208 House members who have co-sponsored the legislation.
It is precisely because so many people do want change and because the union “brand” is so valuable that our historic new initiative, Working America, is so successful. Working America was launched a year ago for people who don’t have the benefit of a union on the job, but who want a say in issues that matter to them. Just one year later, we have recruited more than 650,000 members through door-to-door canvassing and on the web --- making Working America the fastest growing progressive organization in the country and a powerful new voice for working people. On the doors, we’ve found that many people are extremely upset about the Bush overtime takeaway. In fact, Working America has sponsored a website called “Ask a Lawyer” where people can get more information on how they will be affected - - it’s at “www “dot” working America.”
The fight to stop President Bush’s overtime pay cut is a great example of how our movement fights for every working American. Up to six million working Americans will lose their overtime rights under this rule, which went into effect August 23, and which slashes much-needed pay for nurses, chefs, line supervisors, team leaders and others. At the AFL-CIO’s leadership, hundreds of thousands of working people sent postcards, e-mails, petitions and faxes to President Bush and the Department of Labor to stop this pay cut. This is yet one more example of how the President puts corporate interests first ahead of working men and women. When Congress comes back next week, there will be huge pressure on them to overturn the Bush rule. Let me now call on the AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman to update us on our political efforts.