Organizing to Win at 57th Annual Convention
From midterm elections to the long-term revival of the American labor movement in the South
“Organizing to Win” was the theme as almost 200 delegates representing over 100,000 public and private sector local union members from across North Carolina and their guests convened the 57th Annual Convention of the North Carolina State AFL-CIO - the largest association of unions and union councils in North Carolina - at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown on Thursday and Friday, September 11-12th.
See photos from the convention this year.
Clay Aiken, AFL-CIO-endorsed candidate for NC's 2nd Congressional District
Featured speakers this year included U.S. Senator Kay Hagan, 2nd Congressional District candidate Clay Aiken, and national AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre, who delivered the keynote address at a banquet on Thursday. Raleigh Councilmember Mary Ann Baldwin and Wake County state Senator Josh Stein also spoke. Two panels - one on building power for workers in 2014 and beyond and the other on growing the labor movement in the South - and a special tribute to the late P.R. Latta rounded out the day-and-a-half program.
Members of P.R. Latta's family accept a special convention resolution honoring the late, legendary union organizer
“We are building a movement of organized workers in the South, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our community partners, registering voters and mobilizing to restore funding for public education, to increase wages, and to build an economy that works for all of us - not just the rich,” says MaryBe McMillan, Secretary-Treasurer of the NC State AFL-CIO. Listen to Tefere Gebre's moving keynote address to our convention delegates and guests.
Tefere Gebre (left), National AFL-CIO Executive VP and 2014 keynote speaker, with James Andrews
“It will take more than one election cycle to hold the extremists who now run our state accountable for cutting aid for jobless workers, denying Medicaid expansion, and raising the tax burden on hard-working North Carolinians and retirees while letting wealthy families and corporations avoid paying their fair share, but the AFL-CIO is in this for the long-haul,” says James Andrews, President of the NC State AFL-CIO. “I believe that we will win.”