UE’s 79th Convention opened today in Chicago with the theme “One Voice, One Fight, One Future.” The fifth UE convention to be held in the Windy City, this convention is also the largest in recent memory, with over 150 delegates and alternates, joined by more than 60 staff and guests.
Rev. C.J. Hawking gave the invocation. In her prayer, Rev. Hawking said, “We give thanks our ancestors, who would not cave into fear and authoritarianism of McCarthyism. We give thanks for their bold vision of a true democracy, in the world and in their union.” She called upon the “Spirit of solidarity [to] enliven the hearts and quicken the steps of leaders in this room” and to “inspire the leaders to fight for all workers in the U.S. and across the globe.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson welcomed UE to Chicago. A former union organizer himself, Johnson noted that “Chicago is a city that is steeped in the labor movement and labor history, one of the birthplaces of the American labor movement. Our city’s identity is intertwined with the struggle for safe workplaces and fair wages and a just society.” He reviewed what having “everyday working people” running the mayor’s office has accomplished in the city: eliminating the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers, passing the most progressive paid sick leave policy in the nation, building 10,000 units of affordable housing, providing jobs for tens of thousands of young people, and expanding mental and behavioral healthcare services. As UE members deliberate over the course of convention, he said, “I hope that this city serves as a remind of what is possible when workers stand together.”
UE General President Carl Rosen gave his President’s Report to the convention, telling delegates that “The working class needs UE, because there is no more effective tool for the working class than a fighting, rank-and-file union.” He gave numerous examples of the ways that UE’s principles of aggressive struggle, rank and file control, political independence, international solidarity and uniting all workers make UE uniquely suited to addressing the current “maelstrom” facing working people. These included the union’s success in bringing 25,000 workers under UE first contracts in the past two years, the leadership of UE members in the resistance to the Trump administration, and the key role UE has played in bringing together networks of likeminded unions to oppose Israel’s military assault on the Palestinian people and Trump’s attacks on democracy.
Following Rosen’s address, the Fruit of Labor Singing Ensemble led delegates and guests in an original call-and-response song, “I Believe That We Will Win.”
In the afternoon, rank-and-file delegates met in committees to do the work of the convention, preparing resolutions and constitutional amendments; reviewing the union’s publicity, education, and organizing work over the past two years and making plans for the coming two; and developing a “policy action” plan for the best way for UE to continue to engage in aggressive struggle and independent political action.