PITTSBURGH — Barack Obama on Tuesday roused AFL-CIO convention delegates, which have sometimes seemed subdued. But the president’s speech was noteworthy less for any new proposals than for the strength with which he identified his vision with the agenda of organized labor.
He told delegates:
These are the reforms I’m proposing. These are the reforms labor has been championing. These are the reforms the American people need. These are reforms I intend to sign into law: quality, affordable health insurance; a world-class education; good jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced; a strong labor movement.
Shortly after Obama spoke, the convention passed two healthcare resolutions, one laying out principles — such as a strong public option and no taxation of benefits (which Obama has supported) — the other a long-term commitment to the single-payer, social insurance model for healthcare.
Although the AFL-CIO has endorsed single-payer before, a convention has not officially endorsed it for nearly two decades, supporters said. A strong grassroots movement, with support from the California Nurses Association and other unions, had submitted nearly 70 resolutions.
Obama drew a standing, noisy ovation when he strongly re-affirmed his support for the Employee Free Choice Act.
But he also made it clear that a strong labor movement is essential for his vision of remaking the American economy. After recalling the healthcare woes of Steelworker Steve Skvara. Obama said:
Brothers and sisters, this isn’t just about Steve – this is about all of us. Because when hardworking Americans like Steve succeed – that’s when organized labor succeeds. And when organized labor succeeds – that’s when our middle class succeeds. And when our middle class succeeds – that’s when the United States of America succeeds. That’s what we’re fighting for.
For over half a century, the success of America has been built on the success of our middle class. It was the creation of the middle class that lifted this nation up in the wake of a Great Depression. It was the expansion of the middle class that opened the doors of opportunity to millions more. It was a strong middle class that powered American industries and propelled America’s economy and made the 20th century the American century.
And the fundamental test of this century, of our time, is whether we will heed this lesson; whether we will let America become a nation of the very rich and the very poor, of the haves and the have-nots; or whether we will remain true to the promise of this country and build a future where the success of all of us is built on the success of each of us.
If America came together as the ethnically diverse steelworkers of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, did in the 1930s, Obama concluded, those hopes could be realized.
Despite some minor differences, organized labor remains as much or more a champion of Obama as Obama is of the union movement, and this speech helped firm up the affections.
David Moberg, a former senior editor of In These Times, was on staff with the magazine from when it began publishing in 1976 until his passing in July 2022. Before joining In These Times, he completed his work for a Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Chicago and worked for Newsweek. He received fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Nation Institute for research on the new global economy.
