President Speelman Receives Labor Press Leadership Award

Last night Local 1500 President Tony Speelman was among six honorees for the annual Labor Press Leadership Awards. Speelman was introduced and presented an award by UFCW International President Marc Perrone.

Speelman's remarks are below.

Thank you- Today, in such a divided nation unsure of its future - communication is more important than it has ever been.

Organizations like Labor Press are vital, and I mean vital to the millions of hardworking men and women throughout our state and country.

If we can’t rely on the mainstream media to properly cover an election without putting profits before effective journalism, how can we expect the media to cover stories that affect the true backbone of our country, America’s workers?

We can’t.

Our stories, the amazing stories of the hardworking men and women we are all so privileged in this room to represent, are rarely heard by people outside the audiences in rooms like these. They are given far below the attention they deserve.

Issues of fair pay – trade – health care – job security – building infrastructure the right way, with union jobs – affordable college education – raising our wages - pension reform - these are real issues we all face each day that are rarely sprinkled throughout news cycles covering scandals and outrageous quotes from elected officials.

That’s why what Neal and his team at Labor Press do each day is so important. That’s why I’m so honored to receive this award. The one thing we all take away from the election is the power of the media. The power of message – The more of our stories that are out there, the more people will hear the realities of what workers are going through and why we need ACTION from our elected officials, not just their rhetoric.

This is how we win. This is how we build a better country, community and movement for working people. Thank you very much for this honor and lets get to work.