Good afternoon.  It's a pleasure to be here with you in the great state of  South Carolina and in the wonderful city of Charleston on such an important anniversary in the labor movement's history.

I want to thank Donna Dewitt, president of the South Carolina AFL-CIO; Erin McKee, president of the Charleston CLC; and Ken Riley, president of ILA Local 1422, for all your hard work in putting together such a great event to commemorate this anniversary. 

The 10th anniversary of the Charleston Five is a reminder to all of us that sometimes workers have to take a stand for what's right and just, even if it means going to jail! 

Kenneth Jefferson, Rick Simmon, Peter Washington, Elijah Ford, and Jason Edgerton saw injustice and took a principled stand to right it.  Ultimately, right won. 

We now have another mission as trade unionists to make right and that is to ensure that there are jobs for all Americans who want to work. 

It's always so good AND important to hear from workers.  Their stories are a reminder of how urgent it is that we create good jobs and that we create them NOW. 

I also bring greetings from my fellow AFL-CIO officers --  President Richard Trumka and Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler.  In our travels around the country, we've been hearing the same concerns from workers – and we know just how hard it is out here. 

All across the country, workers are hurting.  They are struggling to find work in cities and towns that were once the home of vibrant industries.  

Our nation's unemployment rate is at 9.7 percent, nearly twice as high as when the recession began.  Nearly 15 million workers are unemployed, and a record 38 percent have been without a job for 27 weeks or longer.  

Joblessness among young adults is dismal at 27 percent – and unemployment rates for African Americans at 16.2 percent and Hispanic Americans at 12.4 percent are almost double the overall rates.  These are more than statistics; they mean real pain for real families. 

Some argue that unions aren't relevant.  Well, we know they're dead wrong – and our current economy proves that we need unions more than ever! 

I am so glad we are remembering the struggles of workers here in Charleston who fought for the right to have good union jobs with good wages and good benefits – ten years ago.

The story of the Charleston Five – and the local Longshoremen who work out of the Port of Charleston -- still resonates today.  Ten years later, we are still witnessing a race to the bottom by corporations who want to export jobs instead of goods.  

We are still being pitted against our fellow workers in the international community in an effort to break our solidarity and pad the pockets of Wall Street CEOs. 

Over the past ten years, we have witnessed financial abuses and corporate giveaways that drove our nation into a deep hole that we are still struggling to climb out of.  

We, in the labor movement, know that in order to get out of this hole. we can't put our foot on the brakes  . . . we must instead keep it on the accelerator. 

That's why we've been urging Congress and the White House to act quickly and to make the solution big enough to tackle this huge crisis. 

The House has stepped up to the plate and passed a jobs package.  It was not as big as the country needs, but it was an important step forward for working families. 

America's workers need the Senate to act now to create jobs.  We stepped in when the big banks needed help.  Well, it's time to help America's workers!  

We need a JOBS program – a massive jobs program.  Not just here in South Carolina, but in every city and every state in our country.   

It is the economy – and Americans aren't stupid.  It's about jobs, jobs, jobs. 

We've got to keep extending unemployment benefits so working families can survive, and we also have to have a national jobs plan that increases federal aid to cities and states so they don't have to keep laying off workers who make our vital public services work.   

In an economic recession like the one we're facing, our citizens are in need of the services provided by state and local government more than ever.  We need a jobs plan that takes some of the bailout money and invests it in community banks … so they can lend money to small businesses that create jobs. 

If you can't borrow money, how do you start a new business or keep your existing one going?  

We can lend a flood of money to Wall Street, but we cut the spigot off for Main Street.  We need a jobs plan that puts people back to work directly … through partnerships with businesses -- rebuilding our schools and roads and bridges.  We need a jobs plan that invests in manufacturing alternative sources of energy – a plan that creates green jobs throughout our economy and makes America a leader in technology in the world again. 

We need a jobs plan that creates and retains jobs here at home instead of shipping them overseas.  I want to see the words "Made in America" written BIG again.  I am sick and tired of having my only choice be made in China or somewhere else.  How about you?  

And I can tell you this – we won't have a sustainable economic recovery until we extend affordable, quality HEALTH CARE to every person in America. 

The Republicans may be saying, no, but nearly 50 million Americans don't need obstructions – they need health care and they need it now!   

We must ensure that the JOBS we create are GOOD jobs by guaranteeing every working person the freedom to bargain for a better life through the Employee Free Choice Act.   

A union is still the best way to the middle class – Employee Free Choice Act now!  I know that's what everyone here today is committed to fighting for.  This week, the AFL-CIO will launch a national grassroots campaign for jobs.  

We'll be taking our message to cities and towns across the country.  To union and non-union workers.  To elected officials and allies.  

Because workers are fed up with handouts to Wall Street and not even a hand-up for Main Street.  They are fed up with rewarding companies who send jobs overseas.   They are fed up with elected officials who are afraid to do as much for workers as they have done for the big banks.   And they are fed up with an economy that doesn't work for the people who help build it. 

We'll be harnessing this frustration and using it to power a nationwide movement for jobs.  We have to be an independent voice for all working people, a voice not tied to any political party, voice for Good Jobs and Health Care and financial reform and strong communities. 

Because it's time we turned around our economy and our country to make it work for workers.  

I'll be calling on all of you – and I know you'll be ready.  

Thank you and keep up the good fight!