President Barack Obama told the audience at the AFL-CIO convention this afternoon that he refuses to let the nation go back to the "culture of irresponsiblity" that made the slide in family incomes over the past few years possible while CEO salaries soared.
"Going back to those days would be bad for unions, bad for the middle class and bad for the United States of America," the president said in his address at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Mr. Obama had the support of the AFL-CIO during his campaign last year and union leaders have hopes that the new administration will support many of the issues that organized labor favors.
In the text of the speech released by the White House, the president promised to grow the middle class by "finally providing quality, affordable health insurance in this country," a reference to the hard-fought battle for health care reform that has stirred intense debate among critics and proponents.
He cited statistics indicating families are paying more for health insurance premiums. He said his plan would provide more security and stability to Americans who have insurance, and slow the growth in costs for businesses and the government.
"We will not pay for health insurance reform by adding to our deficits," he promised.
In a nod to the site of the convention, Mr. Obama also referenced how Western Pennsylvania history played a role in improving workers' rights and helping create a strong middle class.
"The battle for opportunity has always been fought in places like Pennsylvania. It was here that Pittsburgh railroad workers rose up in a great strike. It was here that Homestead steelworkers took on Pinkerton Guards at Carnegie's mill."
Workers in this region reached beyond barriers of faith and ethnicity to join together to improve the lot of many people, he said, something that the nation needs to do.
In a message tailored to workers, Obama praised organized labor figures gathered in Pittsburgh for their role in creating a middle class and for propelling the economy forward during last century. He said the same groups must help push the economy ahead now.
"I know too many people are still looking for work, worried they'll be the next one to be let go," a somber Obama said, nodding to a job market that has shed hundreds of thousands of jobs since he took office.
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
