In a stinging rebuke of corporate greed and far right politics, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka asked Boilermakers on Day 2 to think outside of the “corporate policy box.” He said corporations and their political allies hope to trap working families in a box “where they can squeeze more out of us.” They do this by cutting wages, privatizing vital government programs, suppressing wages, allowing cheap foreign competition, and de-unionizing the workplace, he said.

Trumka warned that unions must not sit back and accept this situation. “Our job is to knock down the walls and destroy the box,” he said. To do this, unions must educate, energize and mobilize their members as never before. “We can only destroy the box by growing as a political force…and driving a public debate that insists that working people’s interests be front and center.”

In a stirring and vigorous closing, Trumka brought the assembly to its feet, repeatedly shouting: “Have you had enough?” as he outlined a host of corporate and political injustices to working families. “Then let’s get even!” he told the cheering audience.