PHILADELPHIA, July 28, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- I'm
from Niles, Ohio, an old
manufacturing town in the steel belt. When our largest steel plant
closed on September 19, 1977, 5,000
workers lost their jobs overnight. Over the next decade, 40,000
more lost theirs. Families were wrecked, communities destroyed, and
we felt betrayed. But, we were fighters, we were gritty, we stuck
together, and we never lost the basic American value of respect for
work and respect for workers.
For 40 years, my grandfather, John
Rizzi, was a steelworker. One day, late in his life, he
asked me to take him grocery shopping. We'd go to one store for
meat, another for cheese, always looking for the sale. Hours later,
with one last stop, I asked, "Grandpa, could we go to the closest
store?"
And he said NO! "The meat cutters are on strike. We will NOT
cross that picket line."
That's how I was raised. That's how many of you were raised.
When in doubt, we are on the side of the worker. Because we respect
the men and women who punch a clock, the ones who shower after they
get home from the job. We respect the fighters who go to work
early, stay late, and pour their hearts into what they do.
But Donald Trump? He's been
stabbing workers in the back for years. Trump got rich ripping
people off, stiffing small businesses and contractors. Now he says
he's gonna bring back our jobs? Hey, Ohio, don't buy it! This guy cut deals to make
the Trump line of products in China, Mexico, Bangladesh! Not Youngstown, not Akron, not Niles!
If he really cared about our jobs, he would have hired some of
our people! Trump'll take care of millionaires like himself, but
the rest of us? We'll end up holding the bag, again. Economists say
he's promised so many tax breaks to rich guys and corporations, it
will cost us 3.5 million jobs, and put us $30 trillion deeper in debt. Meanwhile, he says
he'll let Wall Street gamble with our economic security, again.
This isn't a roadmap for a better future, it's what tanked our
economy in 2008. Donald Trump is not
on our side.
But you know who is? — Hillary
Clinton. She respects workers, and she's got a plan to help
them. In her first 100 days, she'll make the biggest investment in
good-paying jobs since World War II. She'll put people to work
repairing roads, bridges, and schools. Her "Make it in America"
plan will put $10 billion into
rebuilding our manufacturing sector.
These initiatives will be a huge shot in the arm for our
autoworkers, our steelworkers and our friends in the building and
construction trades. And Hillary
Clinton has proposed a plan that lets workers share in the
profits they create, because Hillary knows that working people
built this country, together.
Our workers deserve respect. They deserve peace of mind, and a
piece of the pie. They deserve a President who will put them first,
and it's up to us to elect one.
As a Catholic school boy, my favorite Bible verse became Isaiah
6:8. "Then I heard the voice of the Lord say, 'whom shall I send,
and who will go for us?' …here I am; send me." At every stage of
her life, Hillary has said, "Send me." When our children needed
health care, Hillary said, "Send me." When our first responders in
New York and New Jersey needed support after 9/11, Hillary
said, "Send me." When President Obama needed a Secretary of State
to rebuild America's standing in the world, Hillary said, "Send
me." And each of these times she got it done! So now it's our
turn.
Find out how you can get involved by downloading Hillary's app.
Take out your phone and text APP to 47246. And let's send her all
the way to the White House. Because just like workers on the job we
are stronger when we are together; Stronger Together when our
economy works for everyone; Stronger Together when we work with our
allies to keep our nation safe; Stronger Together when every
citizen has an opportunity to live the American dream; and tonight
you'll hear how Hillary will lead us to our best days,
together.
Media contact:
press@demconvention.com
Phone: 215-398-5252
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SOURCE 2016 Democratic National Convention Committee