By The PA. AFL-CIO

– President Rick Bloomingdale and Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder welcomed attendees to the 41st Constitutional Convention of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Stating – We hope that you have an enjoyable and productive convention as we set the course for our State Federation for the next two years.

The theme of our convention is “Strength In Unity.” There is no greater force in this state, nor on this planet, than us standing together in strength and in unity for the common good.

Over the past two years we have stood together and have stopped some of the worst attacks on our unions and on working families that we have ever faced. Good jobs, decent pensions, educational opportunities for our children, our right to vote, and our collective bargaining rights have all been under attack by anti-worker groups and their political supporters.

We have learned that by standing together we can meet the challenges and turn these attacks into opportunities to build more strength for workers. It is our responsibility to continue leading the charge towards good jobs, decent wages, and prosperity for all workers.

This convention provides us with the opportunity to establish an agenda that puts Pennsylvania back to work, restores the middle class, and fulfills America’s promise of greatness for all citizens.

This can be a historic election year for all of us. By joining together we can end the attacks on workers, end the distractive and divisive politics, and begin focusing on the real issues that need to be addressed: investing in workers, investing in our communities and in our schools – rebuilding the strength of our economy and our state. By joining together we can put our state back on solid ground toward sustained economic recovery and growth for all, and not just the wealthy. This is an opportunity of a lifetime we can’t afford to miss and it begins today!

This will be a very busy convention for all of us, but it won’t be all work. We are holding several activities and events for the enjoyment of our delegates and guests. The proceeds from the Work and Family Breakfast and the Silent Auction will help support the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank. The COPE Entertainment Night and the COPE Honorees Dinner will help support our COPE activities and programs.

Source: http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=3843