"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream that one day….little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers."

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit, to choose our better history, to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation—the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

FAIR PAY ACT

On Thursday, January 29, 2009, President Obama signed his very first piece of legislation—the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The Act overturns the 2007 Supreme Court decision in Lilly Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber that essentially gave companies the go-ahead to pay discriminatory wages forever, as long as no one complained about it within the first six months after the discrimination started.

On Wednesday, February 4, 2009, Unions rallied on Capital hill and then delivered over 1.5 million signatures to Congress in support of passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. The Employee Free Choice Act is critical to our economic recovery. Good union jobs helped build America’s middle class. This legislation will rekindle the American Dream by leveling the playing field and empowering workers to form unions and bargain for a better life.

However, corporate lobbyists are mounting a ferocious campaign to defeat this bill, thus more grassroots power is needed to fight back. Our goal is now 2 millions signatures before Congress goes on its February break.

International President		Local President and EVP
Larry Cohen		Mike Harris & Valerie Matthews Monroe

The membership meeting has been re-scheduled for Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. to be held here at the Local office on 920 11^th Street SE, Washington, D.C.