Next Up: Workers Gather to Plan Fight for Fairness

By Meghan Hasse
Mar 30 2015 |
A discussion takes palce during a break at the Next Up Young Worker Summit in Chicago. / photo from flickr user AFGE.

An AAM field coordinator reports from Chicago.

Last week, I attended the Next Up Young Worker Summit, hosted by the AFL-CIO.  The summit was held in Chicago and  more than 1,000 eager young workers and community activists came together to learn, share ideas, and get empowered about the fight for economic and social justice. 

Actor and labor ally Danny Glover fired up the room at the kickoff plenary by drawing a connection between workers’ rights and civil rights. He spoke about the importance of getting involved and being active. “Stand up and fight back,” he urged. 

Renee, a graduate of Chicago’s Austin Polytechnical Academy, spoke about the valuable skills he learned from the machining courses, and earning first place in a Skills USA machining competition.  Another graduate spoke about pursuing his dreams through education with a vision as future owners of manufacturing companies. 

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, spoke passionately about the importance of young people to bring change and lead the way to a better future. “All of us are part of one movement for social and economic justice; one movement for dignity; one movement for a better future and an economy that does work for all working people,” Trumka said.

He went on about the state of the economy. “This year in America, our Gross Domestic Product grew to its highest value ever,” he noted. “We’re living in the richest nation in the world, at its richest time in history. There’s no good reason for so many working people to suffer, for our young people to be saddled with college debt or our communities to lack decent jobs.” Trumka got a standing ovation as he touted raising wages, “When we stand together, we’ve got the power.”

Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) reflected on his recent visit to Selma, Alabama, and also tied the fight for social justice to the movement for economic fairness. He questioned the secrecy around the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations. Of that agreement that “you’ve never heard of,” Ellison had this to say: “If they won’t let me see it, I don’t care what it says, I’m not voting for it.”

On Wisconsin!

There were many opportunities to attend workshops with focuses ranging from the fight for higher wages, to immigration reform, trade policy reform, and an end to discrimination. I was impressed by the excitement and participation in these sessions. 

The summit also featured state-by-state breakout sessions where attendees could network and meet other activists in their localities. And I’m happy to announce that from such a session we’ve officially formed a Wisconsin Young Workers Group and have already started work on planning events to get the organization off the ground.  There are approximately 20 of us from various unions and organizations in Wisconsin.  I can’t wait to see us take it to the next level!