Working people are having a very, very tough time today,

Working people in this country need stronger unions, ... Employers continue taking things away from workers.

Gas prices don't look like they are coming down any time soon. Today, it costs $500 more than it did last year to operate a car. That's a whole lot of money.

Today we are united, strong and on the move. Today we have a strong strike fund. Today we have the resources to run large-scale organizing campaigns against global employers. Today we have $100 million in the bank.

People ask me if I'd like to be a teenager today, I'd have to say, "Not really." I'd never have gotten to meet Frank Sinatra. I wouldn't have ever known Quinn, Gregory Peck, David Niven or Lee Thompson or Carl Foreman or Shelley Winters or Burl Ives. I wouldn't have known those people.

There've been a lot of people asking for honest budget numbers, ... Today, we have those honest numbers. Now it's the hard truth we have to confront. Today, we define the numbers and within two weeks we present proposed solutions on how to deal with the problem.