Bruce Raynor of UNITE HERE was the second major union leader to address the Change to Win coalition this morning.
Raynor is a real firebrand. He repeatedly brought the audience to their feet. “Somebody ought to go to jail for the theft of United Airlines pensions!” was a typical line.
But the main focus of his speech was the struggle to unionize Cintas, a giant uniform corporation — a joint campaign between UNITE HERE and the Teamsters. A large number of Cintas workers addressed the crowd, speaking about the campaign — and the victories they have recently experienced, and challenging all affiliate unions in the new federation to give them support.
Raynor emphasized the connection between the birth of this new federation and that of the CIO 70 years ago. Steel and auto workers became middle-class because of unions, he said. Laundry workers at companies like Cintas can become middle class, too, if they can get the right to form unions.
Two Cintas workers led the hundreds of participants in a chant of “No justice, no peace” and Raynor concluded, “God bless our coalition.”