AFL-CIO Delegates: Making America Work for Working People

by Tula Connell, Sep 13, 2009

Delegates to the AFL-CIO Convention have been heading to Pittsburgh all weekend. In talking with them, it becomes clear that while they seek to accomplish many different things, they are united in one goal: Making America work for working people. Here are some of their voices. (For video clips of each of the delegates below, visit the AFL-CIO Convention online video page.)

AFL-CIO Convention delegate Petee Talley, secretary-treasurer of the Ohio AFL-CIO and proud AFSCME member, is excited to be in Pittsburgh for the convention.

We have lots of issues that the labor movement is looking at, we certainly know that we need to get health care reform passed and then right after that we will be working for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. I’m going to be attending several conferences while I’m here, state and local strategies, which is where we know the heart and soul of the labor movement is—working on the ground in our cities and in states across the country to try to implement our activism and get our activists involved so that we can see really good legislation that’s going to impact working families.

A 40-year union member, Bob Guenther from IBEW Local 77 which represents 7,000 workers across Washington state, Idaho and into Montana, is a first-time delegate to the AFL-CIO Convention. Guenther says he hopes to strategize here on how to improve union organizations and get more people represented by unions. Guenther says unions need to

work toward having a better market share for organized labor members. Organized labor is carrying the ball when it comes to workers’ wages, hours and working conditions and we need to get more folks interested in becoming members of unions and being represented that would bring their living style and wages up to what we now have in the state of Washington….

Norma Villanueva, from the Harris County Central Labor Council in Houston, Texas, says she’s “proud to be a union member because of the living wages, benefits we provide for the working families of America.”

Meanwhile, Barb Phillips from the central labor council in Ashland, Ohio, a member of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees/AFSCME Local 233, says her labor council is in the heart of Republican Ohio—what union activists call the heartbeat of the pachyderm. But Phillips says the labor council is making inroads for working people there, and she radiates enthusiasm for her work in the labor movement.

We’re really pushing for the Employee Free Choice Act, we’re heavily active in affordable health care for everyone, and of course the public option. We’re coming together, meeting other CLC presidents and state affiliates just really keeps us energized and keep doing the work that I think is not only is essential for our country but is God’s work because it’s raising up the middle class, it’s raising up all people. It’s just an awesome thing. 

Saundra Williams, president of the Detroit Metro Labor Council, is focused on building strength and increasing member mobilization at the grassroots level.

I think that my concern has already started to be addressed and that is everyone participating and paying a per cap to the central labor councils. For so long, there was this push for strong state feds, but you cannot have strong state feds without strong central labor councils. So, certainly we want to make sure that folks are affiliated along per cap lines, but more importantly than that, we need to talk about participation because we need the participation to do the work that we do.  

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