Shuler to New Jersey AFL-CIO: Let’s Build a Dynamic Movement

by Seth Michaels, Oct 7, 2009

Continuing her efforts to reach out to workers across the country, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler spoke to the New Jersey State AFL-CIO’s 2009 political and legislative conference this morning, focusing on the critical Nov. 3 governor’s race and how we can build a union movement that wins for workers today—and into the future.

Shuler encouraged delegates to step up their efforts to educate and mobilize other union members for the upcoming governor’s race, which is just four weeks away. Gov. Jon Corzine is in a tight, hotly contested race against challenger Chris Christie, and every vote will matter in ensuring New Jersey’s working families are protected, Shuler said. Corzine has supported expanded health care for children and seniors and paid family and medical leave for workers, Shuler said, while Christie’s proposals would hurt the state’s schools and infrastructure and benefit insurance companies over patients. Shuler noted that over the past weekend, some 1,000 union volunteers knocked on more than 30,000 doors to get the word out about Christie’s anti-worker agenda, and said that we need to continue and increase that effort in these critical last days:

Above all, I urge you to talk with your union sisters and brothers about Jon Corzine and Chris Christie and the issues that matter—share information and fliers with them—right where you work. And make it your personal goal, first and foremost, to seek out and talk to the members who are still undecided. They are the swing voters. They are the ones who are going to decide the election. All you have to do is one thing: Tell them the truth. When you just tell the truth, they’ll make the right decision for themselves about what’s best for their families and best for New Jersey.

One of the most important things the union movement can do today, Shuler contended, is to reach out to the workers who have been left behind by the economic crisis—especially younger workers who could benefit from having a union but don’t realize it.

What all this means for us is pretty clear. Our single biggest challenge is to give the next generation hope, fight for them, embrace them, welcome them into our movement. To make that happen, we need to open our ears and open our minds to new approaches—and that might mean we’ll need to step out of our comfort zone and break some old habits.

Our values and our morals are timeless: social justice, the dignity of work, equality for all, good jobs for those who need them. But we need to revisit how we present those values to the world, and we will.

Shuler praised New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charlie Wowkanech for promoting a strong political mobilization by union members and for encouraging and training union members to run for office. Because of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO’s efforts to get members directly involved through the state federation’s Labor Candidates School, some 560 union members have been elected to municipal, county and state offices. Shuler said the unity and energy of the state’s union members is an inspiration to workers across the country:

The beauty of what you’re doing is that you don’t just plan for today or tomorrow. You plan for the next year, and next decade and next generation. You’re electing young union members to office. You’re giving them a tremendous head start with the training they get in your Labor Candidates School. You’re letting them learn the ropes and get some experience, and then you help them move up to higher positions when they’re ready.

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