Those of us in the labor movement headed to Netroots Nation are looking forward to joining our progressive allies in person at this week. We've got lots going on and hope if you plan to be in Las Vegas for the conference you can stop by some of our workshops and panels—and we certainly hope to see you at the AFL-CIO/Working America "Raise a Glass for the Working Class" beer booth in the exhibit hall.
The Raise a Glass booth combines activism for working families with a toast to working families. After taking an action—e-mailing lawmakers about aid to states to save jobs, texting JOBS to 225568 to join the AFL-CIO Good Jobs Now mobile alerts team, taking the Working America Ask A Working Woman survey or joining Working America—you can stop back during Happy Hour for a union beer tasting.
We'd like to invite you (in between union beer tastings), to the following labor-related panels and events at Netroots Nation.
At Saturday's plenary lunch (July 24), which focuses on "Building a Progressive Economic Vision," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will be among the top-notch presenters, who include Elizabeth Warren and Florida Dem Rep. Alan Grayson. Trumka will focus on the key steps the nation needs to take to rebuild our nation's economy (hint: Trumka's proposals don't include slashing the deficit at the expense of jobs).
We're looking for lots of input at "Young Workers: Taking Charge of Our Future," a July 23 panel moderated by AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler. We want to hear how unions can best connect with—and be relevant to—young workers. The AFL-CIO has made outreach to young workers a key part of our efforts, and the Netroots panel follows up on the AFL-CIO's successful, first-ever Young Workers Summit last month.
The Young Workers panel includes Maria Escobar, who works with Jobs with Justice's successful Student Labor Action Project; Cory McCray, an Electrical Workers (IBEW) member who helped found Young Trade Unionists in Baltimore and Sara Flocks, who launched Young Workers United in California. They have a lot to share and it will be a great discussion (3 p.m., Brasilia 1).
There's lots more, including our Labor Caucus July 24 at 4 p.m. (Miranda 5). You don't need to be a union member to take part.
In the July 24 closing program, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Emerita Linda Chavez-Thompson will take the stage with Blue-Green Alliance President Chuck Rocha and Sen. Al Franken. Chavez-Thompson is running for lieutenant governor of Texas and will join us throughout the conference.
And be sure to check out the panels by our colleagues throughout the union movement.
· "Freelancers of the World, Unite! Unions for Permatemps and Independent Workers," sponsored by the Writer's Guild, East, July 22 (4:30 p.m., Brasilia 3).
· "The 2010 Elections: Channeling the Power of Jobs, Populism and the Angry Voter," sponsored by our friends at the Alliance for American Manufacturing, July 22 (10:30 a.m., Brasilia 6).
· "Obama's Social Security 'Death Panel': Engaging Activists to Defeat the Drive to Cut Critical Social Programs," with Daily Kos front-pager and Working America staffer Laura Clawson on the panel, July 22 (3 p.m., Brasilia 1).
· "Immigration Reform's Strange Bedfellows: The Surprising Consensus that Reform will Improve American Jobs and Bolster Our Economy," sponsored by the Food and Commercial Workers, July 22 (3 p.m., Brasilia 6).
· "Civil Rights in the Modern Era," sponsored by SEIU, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Hip-Hop Caucus, in a noon lunch session July 23.
