AFSCME in San Francisco – Unity & Victory

by   |  July 29, 2008

Day 1 of AFSCME's 38th International Convention: Unity and Victory was the theme as Alice Goff, president of California Council 36 and an International vice president welcomed the nearly 6,000 delegates, alternates and guests to her home state, reminding us of the great importance of the November 2008 elections. “We must come together,” she declared. President McEntee, in his keynote address, called for members to work together to meet our biggest challenges: to elect pro-worker candidates across the country and build public support for the vital public services that make our communities a better place to live, work and raise a family.

“The stakes are too high – too high – for our nation to elect another President who doesn’t respect our work, doesn’t respect our families and doesn’t respect the public services that America depends on and that our members provide,” McEntee said.

The day’s program, which was chaired by former International Vice Pres. Russell Okata and included testimonials from members from CA, HI, NY, OH, OR and IL, underscored our common commitment to make this country a better place for working families.

“You know something is wrong when Big Business is getting their bailout packages handed to them from the government but all working people seem to be getting are foreclosure notices. I want a President who will do the right thing,” declared Davida Russell, a school bus driver in Cuyahoga County, OH, and state vice president of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees/AFSCME Local 4.

Russell was joined at the podium by Lorraine Guest, president of Local 215 (New York’s DC 1707); Michael Hanna, vice president of Local 88 (Oregon Council 75); Margarita Jaramillo, member of United Domestic Workers (UDW/NUHHCE Local 1199); Lori Laidlaw, member of Local 817 (Illinois Council 31); and Kim Wallace, member of New York’s Civil Service Employees Association/AFSCME Local 1000. For pictures, videos and more of the AFSCME 38th International Convention, check out www.afscme.org.