Remarks of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka at NDLON Assembly

Remarks of AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka
National Day Laborers’ Organizing Network 6th Annual Convention

Thank you, Pablo [Alvarado], for your kind introduction. And thank you all for the honor of speaking to you today.

I’m proud to stand with you because I don’t know of anyone who is working as hard as you are to force the United States to live up to and fully honor its democratic ideals.

Organizing — coming together — is one of our greatest values.

The pursuit of justice is one of our greatest values.

Uniting for justice in the face of prejudice, under threat of official reprisal, against loud public condemnation, is what makes this nation great.

Welcome to the 6th National Assembly: On the Road to Justice, Ni un paso atrás

The importance of this assembly can be marked by simply looking at what many of us faced in order to arrive here. We travelled in caravans through 287(g) country, seek risking interfacing with police officers who double as deportation agents, view in order to challenge the polimigra. We left kitchen tables stacked high with frequent bills and street corners frequented by too few jobs during winter months. Carrying the fake checks of contractors in our pockets and the echo of hateful cries of minutemen in our ears, we’ve come together to turn the tide.