Anna Berger, SEIU and Change to Win
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Tuesday, August 26, 2008:

I grew up in Levittown, Pennsylvania, in the 1950s believing in the American dream. My mom was a nurse, working the evening shift. My dad, a Teamster truck driver, was permanently disabled in a terrible accident when I was 9. Dad's Social Security and Medicare--and mom's enormous strength--allowed my sisters, brother and me to get by and even go to college, without being buried by debt.

After I got my first union job, my dad gave me some good advice. He said, "Stick to the union. It's what makes a difference for working people like us." Unions are the best all-in-one program for working families that America ever had--and it didn't cost the government a dime.

My dad was right. Unions help ordinary people like me, like truck drivers. Nurses. And farm, factory and construction workers, who work hard to find a way to own a home. Raise a family. Send our kids to college and retire with dignity.

Our unions helped us pass on to our kids a better life than our own. And we call this legacy the American dream. But today, that dream is fading. After eight years of George W. Bush, work hours are up but wages are down. And John McCain is offering more of the same. The gap between the rich and the rest of America--it's staggering and growing. And John McCain is offering more of the same. Nine in 10 workers have no union, while healthcare costs are exploding, pensions wiped out. Job security, a thing of the past.

Working people in this country can't afford more of the same. But that's exactly what John McCain's offering--more of the same. Brothers and sisters, it is time for change, and I stand here today to tell you that working people all around this country know--Barack Obama will bring the change we need.

Barack Obama believes in an America where workers have a voice on the job and their hard work is valued and rewarded. Where health care is affordable and accessible. Where corporations pay their fair share, and workers are free to join a union without being harassed or intimidated.

Barack Obama believes in an America where we work with each other, take care of each other and where our kids do even better than we do. Barack Obama will bring the change we need. And when he is our president, working families around this country will again know that the American dream is within the reach of everyone who calls this great country home.