For Immediate Release
Tuesday, June 25, 2002
AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy Says America's Labor Movement Is Alive and Well
LAS VEGAS, NV —William Lucy, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, told 6,000 convention delegates and guests that AFSCME continues to lead the way in the American labor movement through its actions in the workplace and its ever-increasing power in the political arena.
"We are AFSCME, — the most aggressive organizing union in the House of Labor," said Secretary-Treasurer Lucy. "The most politically powerful. The most socially conscious. We have been a spotlight in the past — we must be a beacon for the future."
With 1.3 million members, AFSCME is one of the largest and fastest growing unions in America — organizing more than 100,000 new workers over the last two years. AFSCME has been instrumental in moving the governors of both Kentucky and Missouri to issue executive orders enabling state workers to organize unions for the first time. In Washington, the governor signed a collective bargaining law that had taken many years to pass.
Despite AFSCME's great successes, Lucy reminded delegates of what workers are up against in 2002 — Enron economics, disappearing jobs and dishonored rights. "Folks who thought they had secure jobs, stable benefits and opportunities for advancement are waking up to an American nightmare where everything they worked for, saved for, sacrificed for, and struggled for can be — and is being lost without warning," he added.
Lucy told delegates that they must continue to wield a strong hand when it comes to fighting oppression, and when it comes to fighting greedy people who would run this country like a corporation rather than like a democracy, by organizing the unorganized. He added that in addition to organizing, members must help elect pro-labor, pro-worker and pro-AFSCME candidates.
"Whether this country continues to drift toward the rich and wealthy, toward meanness and madness and away from hard-working American families could well depend on the strong role we play this year in political action," said Lucy. "Given the political landscape, this is a job well suited for our union."
Throughout this week, delegates will hear from a variety of speakers, including celebrity political activists Martin Sheen and Erin Brockovich. AFSCME members will also hold a rally Wednesday afternoon to stand with workers at downtown hotels who still don't have a contract.
- Text of Secretary-Treasurer Lucy's Address
