Major Speech by Trumka, "America's Choices"

Click to watch an excerpt of Trumka's speech.

Why the Conventional Wisdom is wrong

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka delivered a major speech to the National Press Club this week. In his speech on 1/19/11, Trumka challenged leaders to invest in making "the America we want to be."

Will we choose to tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and welfare for corporations? Or will we choose to invest in repairing our crumbling infrastructure and creating good-paying jobs in America?

Will we slash Social Security, gut health care reform, and let Wall Street run amuck with our retirement savings? Or will we recognize it is working people and a strong middle class that will fuel our economic recovery?

"The conventional wisdom is that we cannot afford to be the country that we want to be. That could not be more wrong. We are a nation that still has choices."

Click here to watch Trumka's speech in full.

"What kind of country are we? A country of isolated individuals fending for themselves or a country with shared values and a shared vision? A country with scant resources, fading glory, and no choices? Or a blessed nation with the potential to do right by its people and be a leader in the world?"

Whatever happens between now and the next election, our leaders will have to make choices. These are their choices. It will be up to us to hold them accountable for the ones they make.