You can see SEIU President Andy Stern addressing the 2008 SEIU convention by going to this website: SEIU 2008 Convention, Ustream.TV: Streaming live from SEIU's 2008 Convention in Puerto Rico.
Update [2008-6-2 14:37:49 by Todd Beeton]:This was an absolute barn-burner of a speech. The membership in this hall was absolutely rapt by Andy's message of "justice for all, not just us" and "we are our brother's and sister's keeper." Up on the jumbotron, you could see the tears welling in the eyes of people who stood up and cheered Andy, the people in this hall were clearly moved by the speech. There's been more than a little political theatre at play here, especially the "Deal of the Century"-like graphics announcing the landmark of crossing 2,000,000 members, but no matter how theatrical the speech and the presentation were, the reaction by the membership was clearly genuine.
Update [2008-6-2 14:44:30 by Todd Beeton]:Two women, non-union workers, just left the stage after telling their stories, again, a genuinely moving moment in what is generally a fairly scripted theatrical affair. They spoke of making in the area of $7 an hour, having to work several jobs and still living paycheck to paycheck. They have no healthcare insurance, one woman spoke of being one paycheck away from being homeless, unable to save for retirement and unable to visit her grandchild in NY. That's when she broke down and I heard to my right in the back of the room: "That's OK, take your time, darlin." She stopped speaking to collect herself and the place rose to their feet in solidarity with their sisters, many wiping away tears. It was a reminder to me of why we're fighting for what we're fighting for.
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