![\"Rev](\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Wide-of-stage-as-Melvin-Spence-shake.jpg\")
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Rev. Terrence L. Melvin, secretary-treasurer of the New York State AFL-CIO, fired up the delegates on the floor during his keynote address at the 44<\/span>th<\/span> Annual Convention in Niagara Falls.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to be here with you,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s truly humbling to be amongst such proud and successful union members. Congratulations on setting the bar for your union siblings in New York. You should be proud of what you have accomplished.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYour theme at the Convention is Reclaim Our Future,\u201d he said. \u201cHere, you are putting your footprints in the present. This is just the beginning, just the start, but it\u2019s a good one. We need to fight for tomorrow, today. That\u2019s our mission as true labor leaders.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The key to a better future is fighting for the pay, benefits, and respect members deserve.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot maintain staffing if new hires get the short end of the stick on health care and retirement,\u201d Melvin said. \u201cNew employees have no loyalty to the job when they know bosses have no loyalty to them. We have got to figure out as unions how to meet their needs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt is on us to reclaim the future for future generations,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Melvin called on the delegates to get involved.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur state is at a tipping point,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m sounding the alarm. We are losing. There is no more time to talk or debate, I am here to call you to action. We need to get active, get moving, get mobilized. There is too much on the line in 2022 for working men and women.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He urged everyone to get out and vote for strong representatives who share our values and will fight for our needs.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGun violence is no joke,\u201d he said. \u201cYour grandmother should be able to go to the grocery store, you should be able to go to your house of worship, and your kids should be able to go to school without fear,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m sick and tired of seeing more shootings and killings that make no sense. We need common sense laws.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Unions should also fight for women\u2019s rights, he said. \u201cThe ultra-conservative Supreme Court is no joke. <\/span>Roe v. Wade<\/span><\/i> is just the tip of the iceberg. They want to tell a woman what to do with her body,\u201d Melvin said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The way forward is unions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOrganize, organize, organize,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is our path to victory. When we organize, everything else will make sense. When we fight, we win freedom, equality, and liberation for our country and our nation.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Rev. Melvin has served as secretary-treasurer of NYS AFL-CIO since 2007. He is an ordained Baptist minister and active in the Second Baptist Church in Lackawanna, N.Y. He is also the international president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, where he focuses on addressing the concerns of Black workers and their communities in all 50 states and Ontario, Canada.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rev. Terrence L. Melvin, secretary-treasurer of the New York State AFL-CIO, fired up the delegates on the floor during his keynote address at the 44th Annual Convention in Niagara Falls.\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-2201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-40-no-8","issue-volume-40-no-9"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"2022](\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/Full-Color-Convention.jpg\")
Melvin drew attention to PEF\u2019s successful fight for 2.5x overtime pay and Tier 5 and 6 pension improvements, and said these wins are just the opening salvo for the union.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n