At a rally at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 5 union hall in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo W. Gerard introduced presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to chants of “Hill-ar-y, Hill-ar-y, Hill-ar-y” and a standing ovation.
Gerard and Secretary Clinton clasped hands aloft as the overflowing crowd that included many USW members cheered. She called Gerard a champion of working people for as long as she has known him.
With the pall of Sunday’s slaughter in Orlando, Fla., hanging over the event, both Gerard and Clinton spoke at length about defeating terrorism and hatred with unity, love and commitment to ensuring civil and human rights for everyone.
Secretary Clinton said such tragic situations, as well as confronting brutal foreign enemies, require calm and dignified responses, not name-calling, theatrics and hysterics. And, she said, she would not ban, demonize or declare war on an entire religion.
Clinton mentioned economic issues briefly near the end of her remarks, including this pledge: “I will have the back of every Steelworker hurt by unfair trade.”
In his introduction, Gerard told the crowd that when Secretary Clinton served as a senator from New York, she was a lawmaker on whom workers could always depend. Every time he asked for her help on an issue, she offered to try. And, he recounted, 90 percent of the time she came through for workers. When she didn’t, he said, it was because of obstructionist Republicans.
“We need a president who will rebuild our manufacturing base and push back against those who destroy our jobs by cheating against agreed upon trade rules,” Gerard told the crowd.
“We need a president who understands that our infrastructure is critical but is too old and too frail – literally crumbling beneath our feet – and who will fight like there is no tomorrow to rebuild our infrastructure and in the process create millions of jobs.
“Hillary Clinton will be that president. And I trust her to deliver!
“This is no time to experiment with the irrational,” he warned to massive applause.
Secretary Clinton assured the audience that she has been listening to the people of Western Pennsylvania who have seen their wages stagnate while their rising productivity resulted in skyrocketing wages only for the 1 percent.
She promised that her administration would work to end this inequity. And she told the mostly union crowd that she knew that so-called right-to-work legislation, that kills unions, is “wrong for workers.”
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