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At next week's Celebrating America’s Future 2013 Awards Gala United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard will be honored as a Progressive Champion. Labor is progressive, and progressives recognize labor's partnership in the fight for democracy and prosperity for all people. Leo Gerard is a champion in our common struggle.

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Here is Leo on building a movement. "Not one progressive group, including the labor movement, is going to be able to change the direction of the country on their own."

[fve]http://youtu.be/FWCMLyWBo-Y[/fve]

In January I interviewed Leo. During the interview Leo said a few things that you might want to listen for and listen for his explanations:

  • “Collective bargaining is under assault.”
  • “This attack on labor is a fools game, as you lower wages and benefits you create economic inequality and can’t sustain the economy.”
  • “You can’t sustain democracy when 50% of wealth goes to the top 1%.”
  • “Workers and trade unions are a cornerstone of any democracy.”

To listen to the interview, click here.

Here is an interview with Leo and union member Nick Gaitaud, with Laura Flanders at the recent AFL-CIO convention:

[fve]http://youtu.be/ndPmq0_vdvM[/fve]

Here is Leo rising to stop the war on women:

[fve]http://youtu.be/pPrRv4X8AJU[/fve]

This is Leo's bio from the Gala site:

President of the United Steelworkers and a progressive coalition-builder, Leo W. Gerard has been a leader in the fight for union-wage jobs that support middle-class families and their communities. His priorities range from strategic contract bargaining to building political, domestic and international alliances. Leo has educated progressives about the importance of restoring manufacturing jobs and investing in American infrastructure. He has also brought diverse groups together to fight for a clean energy manufacturing economy. He played a leadership role as a founding board member of the Apollo Alliance, one of the first successful efforts to unite environmentalists and unions around a vision of a sustainable economy. And he continues to bring these forces together as co-chair of the Blue-Green Alliance.

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I just love this guy. Deal with it. And come to the Gala. Click the pic for tickets:

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