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Obama: When Workers Form Unions, ‘Workers Prosper, America Prospers’ |
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Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told a raucous crowd of more than 700 working men and women that as president, he would fight for the freedom to form unions, creation of universal health care and an end to the Iraq war.
The hundreds of union members who crowded yesterday into the War Memorial theater in Trenton, N.J., showcased their union pride with such T-shirts as “American Made Steel,” Proud to Make America Work” and “Every Worker Deserves a Secure Pension.”
The event opened with a standing ovation for Obama, who responded to the applause with a humble, “You’re making me blush.”
In his opening statement, Obama spoke about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 trip to Memphis, Tenn., to help sanitation workers organize.
They stood up for themselves. In this country, we should value the labor of every single American worker.
He said every worker deserves the freedom to form unions without intimidation, bargain in good faith and work in a safe environment. “Those rights are in jeopardy today,” Obama warned. When workers join unions, “not only do workers prosper, America prospers.”
Obama promised to “make the Employee Free Choice Act the law of the land” and to make universal health care coverage a reality.
We can have universal health care by the end of the next president’s first term, by the end of my first term.
He called for trade deals that “finally honor labor standards and environmental standards” and the end of tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. (Also, check out AFT’s coverage of the event here.)
On Iraq, Obama called for the troop withdrawl to begin:
If we organize, we can bring an end to a war that should never have been authorized…It is time to bring our troops home.
Obama took questions from three New Jersey workers. Sharon Masino, a dealer at Caesars Place in Atlanta City since 1984, was first to speak. She and other casino dealers recently voted to join the UAW—with a lopsided 82 percent of the vote. (The dealers currently are negotiating their first contract.) Masino described the intimidation she often faces as she helps organize her co-workers. She asked Obama:
As president, what would you do to make a worker such as myself not have to endure these feelings of intimidation and harassment when you try to organize them and stand up for their rights?
“One thing we have to do,” Obama responded, “is to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.” Obama also said those he appoints to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Labor Department would be more “sympathetic” to the struggles of working families. Finally, he promised to use the “bully pulpit” to support working families because it’s “been a long time since a president said, ‘Unions are a good thing.’”
Next, Mike Ruffey, a steelworker for 28 years, asked Obama:
How could you ensure a fair trade policy to protect American jobs and workers’ rights?
Obama said the United States should “make sure the playing field is level” for America’s workers and trade deals should included “enforceable” labor and environmental standards. He also emphasized that we need to enforce the trade deals we already have.
Finally, Brenda Joshua, a certified nurses assistant from Pleasantville, N.J., asked Obama what he would do as president about the rising cost of health care.
Obama spoke of the importance of lowering health care costs through preventive care, improved health technologies and a “catastrophic insurance” component to decrease the impact the chronically ill place on premiums. He said the savings could be used to insure the tens of millions of Americans who currently go without health insurance.
The questions then came from the audience who asked Obama about such issues as the lack of union representation at Verizon Business, Iraq, education, immigration, Social Security and infrastructure funding.
One interesting moment came when Cathleen Wilder asked Obama what his “intentions are about Wal-Mart.”
“I won’t shop there,” Obama replied.
10 Comments
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Thank goodness for Obama, but what does it say about this country when only one of our elected representatives speaks out for the working man’s rights? Despite our class confusion, the vast majority of us are working men and women who would be benefitted by stronger unions. Has our country become an oligarchy where are elected representatives do the bidding of billion dollar corporations b/c they are beholden to them for campaign contributions? Is that what the founders of this nation envisioned? Is that what’s acceptable to you? The working men and women of this country ARE this country. We have to take it back from the billionaires controlling it.
Sounds like a political speech. Promises, promises, promises.
Glad to hear Mr. Obama s on the side of workers - he was in Detroit last week and did not mention workers, workers rights, the UAW, etc.
Workers in the U.S. must come to understand one thing; worker’s rights were never delivered to us by politicians. While Obama’s intentions are good, they in of themselves don’t mean much if we do not fight this battle for ourselves.
The National Labor Relations Act passed in the 1930’s came about due to workers striking, mass picketing, sit down strikes, etc. The bosses became fearful and realized they had NO choice but to negotiate. The politicians also realized this and the NLRA or Wagner Act was passed. Never forget many of our sisters and brothers paid the ultimate price for this right! No Guts, No Victory!
What actually would prosper America is keeping jobs here in America. Every year millions of jobs are sent overseas to slave labor. Anytime you call your credit card company or some other business, the person answering the phone can barely speak English. We have to get a president who will be concerned mostly about not outsourcing our jobs.
Maybe with Mr. Obama we will finally have a REAL VOICE in our government. The robber barons have been living high on the hog for too long. Unions built this nation and gave us the standard of living that made this country great. Please Mr. Obama, do not tell us what we want to hear but do as you say if you get elected!
I recently got a call from a phone solicitor raising money for Obama. One of the first things I ask solicitors is are they a union member. Once again in this case the solicitor was not.
I am tired of giving money to candidates (particularly democrats) who do not employ union phone solicitors or union printers.
There is much more to being supportive of unions then simply saying you are. Our elected officals who claim to support our cause and values should also do so with their wallets.
Patuaw hit the nail on the head. The word to use is hypocrite. It is up to us as union supporters to make our voices heard. Many union mmbers tell each other about the beneifits of unions but we have to tell others especially those in Congress and Legislatures.
“..it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless
minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds..” - Samuel Adams
“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is
striking at the root.” — Henry David Thoreau
I went to the rally in Trenton. Obama certainly justified the excitement that motivated by me to attend. I can’t say he
won my endorsement. I chose to stay neutral this early in the campaign. On the other hand, I certainly concluded that I will be proud to support him if (I trust Obama would say “when”) he is the eventual Democratic candidate. It is easy to understand the Time poll that says that, if the election were today, every major Democratic candidate would defeat each of the GOP candidates head to head!
Isn’t that just GRAND, Old Party!
In response to john3236, How can you say Obama is a friend of the working man? He is supporting giving amnesty to millions of criminal aliens who broke our laws and drive down wages of working men and women of America. Take jobs away from union members and drain our social services that are intended for our American poor, elderly and veterans.
Friend of the working man, NOT!