by James Parks, Jul 1, 2008

Asserting that “our time is now,” United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard opened the union’s convention by calling on the more than 3,000 delegates to “seize the moment” to bring fundamental change to the nation’s economy and politics.  

In a rousing keynote speech yesterday, Gerard said USW members  

share the powerful belief that every human being, no matter where they work—no matter their gender, their race or their creed—every worker has the right to be treated with dignity and respect, and the right to retire with security. This is our moment to challenge that shell game and reassert our rightful place as champions of the middle class.  

Gerard is blogging each day from the convention. You can check out his blog posts here. You also can follow the proceedings of the convention on the USW’s new website, www.usw.org. The site features live streaming video, daily news, photo slide shows, audio reports, updated blogging and a wealth of other USW information.

Gerard and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) both said Republican presidential candidate John McCain offers the same anti-worker, anti-middle-class ideas as President George W. Bush. “I know John McCain,” Reid said. 

He has the wrong temperment. He’s wrong on the economy. He’s wrong on the war. We have to elect, without a doubt, Barack Obama.  

After a video that chronicled the attack on workers worldwide, Gerard urged the delegates to continue building global solidarity that’s improving the lives of workers everywhere. (Watch the video.) 

It’s well past time to challenge the power of today’s global capital before it does any more damage to the lives of working people, before it succeeds completely in putting a 21st century face on the Robber Baron values of yesteryear. Globalization is the driving force behind this New Age of Robber Barons.  

As an example of the value of global solidarity, he pointed to the victory of the Liberian rubber workers, who gained an independent union after 82 years with the help of the USW and the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center. The rubber workers, who now are negotiating a contract with Firestone, were honored last week with the AFL-CIO’s Meany-Kirkland Award for human rights. 

Tomorrow, the USW will take another big step toward global union solidarity when Gerard and Derek Simpson, general secretary of the U.K.-based international union Unite, mwill forally sign an agreement creating a global union with more than 3 million members in Europe and North America.

Gerard also laid down the challenge to union members to “go on the offense” and seize the chance to create a better world.

Seize this moment in history—this is our time. Our kids and the future are counting on us. Seize the chance to elect a President committed to working people and elect a Congress that cares about more than Corporate America’s quarterly profits. Seize this moment to win universal health care for all of us. Seize it to liberate workers who want to organize without the fear of being fired. Seize it to make the politicians stop dancing for the pleasure of billionaires. 

Seize this moment and you will see the winds of change come roaring across North America.

Convention delegates demonstrated their commitment to change this morning, by joining nearly 5,000 Vegas taxi cab drivers to demand a fair contract. Despite negotiations with the cab company owners, the drivers have been working without a new pact since December. Issues include livable wages, long hours and targeted terminations of union drivers.  

The drivers are represented by USW Local 711A and the Industrial Technical Professional Employees Union  (ITPE) Local 4873, an affiliate of the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU). Some 2,200 drivers at Yellow, Checker and Star cabs are covered by the ITPE, whose contract has expired. The USW represents 2,800 drivers in seven other cab companies, with contracts expiring next year. 

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article | Comments (0)