Thank you, Hugh [McVey], for that kind introduction.  

I've got to say something about Hugh. He's courageous. He's an astute political leader willing to dedicate his energy, and to spend his political capital to hold elected officials accountable to help working families. Here's to your toughness, my friend, and to your heart.  

I also want to recognize the work of Secretary-Treasurer Herb Johnson, who's never afraid to wade into a fight for working families.  

And Tom George -- Tom, I want to convey to you my deep condolences for your loss this year. We stand beside you, brother.  

You know we fight on the hard days, just the same as we do when the sun is shining and victory's in sight.  

When it's harder -- when the rain's falling and the polls are lagging -- that's when we pull ourselves together, stand together, and lean into the fight.  

You here in Missouri really showed us all how to push back, back against the right-wingers, against the kind of pressures aimed only to hurt our working families.  

You fought against the health care opt-out in your legislature and on the ballot. You showed us that you've got to keep pushing back, even in the face of a loss.

And you've had your wins. Last legislative session, you beat back a right-to-work-for-less bill and Paycheck Deception. You upheld your minimum wage increase and defeated a bill to ban PLAs, and another that would have hurt workers injured on the job.  

You're in the thick of it here in Missouri. You've got to build political will for the kind of sensible legislation that will solve the Show Me State's money woes.  

So come on. We're going to fight like we mean it, and we're going to win.  

We're stronger together. We've got power together. We've got people power. And we'll fight for jobs because we can -- and we will -- rebuild America's middle class, with good jobs, green jobs, manufacturing jobs.  

How many of you here feel like you've been watching too much cable TV?  The horse-race. Every time our champions drop in the polls, it's depressing. But I've got to tell you. This month is the low point. They've been hammering at us for 20 months, and we're tired of it, and we're ready to fight.

I was just up in Alaska for their annual convention. We were talking about Sarah Palin, about how irresponsible she and her fellow Republicans are. They attack everything. And they've crossed over to the wrong side of the line. They're using the worst kind of fear tactics and violent rhetoric.  

If you think about it, it's easier for them when they lose an election, because they don't have to govern. They just sandbag us, try to drag us down, try to keep America from succeeding, try to keep us from succeeding. It's sick. It's disgusting.  

Don't forget that they're out of power because they lost. And you know who beat them? We did. And we're going to beat them again.  

So you may be frustrated, you may be angry. But let's direct our frustrations at those who so richly deserve it.  

Every time the Democrats and President Obama have proposed jobs legislation, they've been blocked by crass maneuvers from the most politically motivated Republican minority we have ever seen – and I really do mean ever.  

That's why Congress hasn't moved faster. That's why we haven't seen the serious job growth, major investments to rebuild our crumbling schools, bridges, highways, and rail systems that we've called for to rebuild America.  

At every attempt to solve America's most urgent issues, the Republicans like Rep. Roy Blunt have said, No. Just No.   

And the Party of No doesn't want the union vote -- the working family vote. They want us all to stay at home out of frustration. They figure that if they can mobilize the rightwing radicals, the corporate conservatives, the Tea Party fanatics, and the talk show fans, and if they can thoroughly disgust the rest of us, then they can win this election in a walk.  

Well, I have news for them. We're still here. We're going to win jobs. We're going to win for each other, and we're going to win by keeping strong majorities who will invest in jobs, in Congress, and in the states.  

I want to talk to you about the AFL-CIO's strategy to rebuild America's middle class, but first I've got to talk to you about the problem, because it's not as simple as the 10 percent official unemployment, or the 20 percent under-employment in Missouri today.  

Right here in St. Louis, unemployment in the building trades is 25, 30 percent. When the cold weather comes, it'll jump to 50 percent. Unemployment in manufacturing is over 17 percent. Those numbers are bad. But our problem goes back much farther.  

Over the past 25 years, Missouri's middle class has slipped. Led largely by a decline in your manufacturing base – because of unfair trade policies and tax laws that rewarded companies for shipping jobs outside our borders – Missouri's hard-working families have been working for less, and less, and borrowing more and more.  

Even before the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, wages in Missouri flat lined from 1988 to 2000, and have dropped steadily since.  

It's clear that no amount of outsourcing is enough, and no wage cuts are deep enough, no profit or bonus large enough, to satisfy America's worst corporate CEOs.  

Now, we have a plan to put a stop to this pell-mell race to the bottom. It's a one-word plan: It's called Jobs! Jobs!  They've got to be good jobs. That's how we're going to rebuild America.  

When you listen to Republicans on the jobs issue, it sounds like they're talking about some make-work project, that costs a lot of money, is gone in six months, and leaves our children and grandchildren burdened by debt.  

That makes about as much sense as putting Blunt in the U.S. Senate.  

I'm talking about real public investments that will dramatically alter and improve the face of America, public investments to rebuild our crumbling and inadequate infrastructure -- and modernize it.  

I'm talking about projects that will create cycles of innovation and creation to spur additional private investments, technological advances, and spin-off businesses. This is how you rebuild an economy.  

What I'm talking about are good jobs for you, a future for your family.  

Right here on American soil, scientists and engineers are developing technology for wind turbines, and even – can you believe this? – a kind of sophisticated electrical engine powerful enough to propel a hybrid passenger airplane – that Boeing says could be market-ready in a decade.  

It's not enough for us to develop those technologies -- if the products are built in China,  or Vietnam, or Germany.  

We've got to manufacture those products right here in America. And we can do it. Nobody can beat America's workers.  

Those goals, and a sound industrial policy, are within our reach, but we've got to have the right representatives in Washington.  

One of the best things you can do is elect Robin Carnahan over Rep. Roy Blunt. In Robin, you have a new voice for Missouri's working families. In Blunt, you've got a man who has campaigned against the middle class for 14 years. He helped lead the Republican charge.

Blunt's a congressman who likes lobbyists so much he hires them, and not just any K Street firm. Roy Blunt's tied to the most notorious name, the felon Jack Abramoff. He still hasn't answered for that relationship.  

It's no surprise that the U.S. Chamber endorsed Blunt because he shares their agenda of bailing out Wall Street and big corporations while doing nothing for working families.  

If you're unemployed, you're out of luck because Blunt voted against extending your unemployment benefits.  

If you're a senior citizen, you're on your own because Blunt supports privatizing Social Security.  

If you teach children for a living, or run into burning buildings to save people's lives, tough luck for you because Blunt voted against aid to help Missouri prevent layoffs.  

You've got to beat Blunt back. Lift up Robin! The choices are clear. And Missouri could be the difference between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Speaker John Boehner.  

You've also got some real champions -- legislators worth fighting for. Reps. Russ Carnahan and Ike Skelton are great lawmakers. Each has a 96 percent voting record for working families.

And Governor Nixon. You've got to fight for him to show him the support he needs to stand up for working families. You're either going to move ahead with your champions or backward with the party that wants tax cuts for the rich and "NO!" for everyone else.

And you've got to fight against Proposition A -- a product of the worst kind of checkbook politics – which, if passed could kill funds for basic municipal services like street maintenance,  police and fire protection for St. Louis and Kansas City. It would be a disaster.

You've got to fight for your union brothers and sisters who are running for state office. Nobody represents working people like working people!

So I'm asking you today: Get your members motivated. Get excited. Run your programs. Get your members talking on the worksites, leafleting worksites. Put boots on the ground. This is what we do best. No one's better. And nobody, under any circumstances, can sit this one out.

You've got to fight for control in the Missouri House and a chance for gains in the Senate. You can make these gains, but you've got to fight for them.

We need a strong showing everywhere because if we win these elections on November 2, it'll strengthen us to fight on November 3, and the next day, and the day after that, for the jobs we need, for the economy we need.

Those of us who want better have to understand: If Missouri and America are going to create new jobs with rising wages, stable benefits, and promising futures, we've got to work for it.

If you believe that keeping jobs in this country matters, and in returning America to a country that makes things again, work for it.

If you believe that America must invest in transportation and technology, education and the environment, work for it.

If you believe that Wall Street got us into this mess and now must pay its fair share of the costs to get us out, work for it.

Work for it. Stand for it. Stand together. March together. Fight together. Win together. And don't let anyone—anyone—stand in our way.              

Thank you. And God bless you all.