The morning after Senator Barack Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee, he didn't speak to Wall Street. Instead he spoke to more than 4,000 SEIU members, guests and delegates in San Juan, Puerto Rico at the SEIU 2008 Convention.

He spoke to us because he's one of us. He's...

There is a real and important debate being held in both the labor movement and in our country right now about how to best serve workers' interests.

We believe it is both healthy and a sign of a vibrant democracy for people to stand up -- in both their...

Standing on the east steps of the California state capitol yesterday for the announcement of the California deal on health care reform, I was keenly aware that we had reached a pivotal moment--an historic crossroads--in the search for real solutions to transform America's health care system.

Yesterday, California took...

This year -- despite a rocky start -- I am experiencing the essence of Thanksgiving.

It started last week as I ate lunch with a number of men quite successful in their professional life, and now divorced, and listened to them lament that this was not "their year" to spend...

There's setting the bar low, then there's changing the game entirely.

Earlier this week, the administration tried again to justify its astonishing veto of the popular SCHIP bill. Although the bipartisan bill will make healthcare benefits available to about 10 million children, the White House thinks we would be...

The promise of America is that if you work hard, you will be rewarded. You will be able to provide for your family, own a decent home, afford quality health care, and enjoy a secure retirement. It is that promise that built a thriving middle class. It is the American...

Like everyone else, I'm praying for the families of the Utah miners and the rescue teams whose lives have been taken. And as I think about what they have lost, I'm wondering if we will learn from yet another "disaster" with apparently predictable and preventable causes.

As I write I'm...

Yesterday there were congressional hearings that highlighted the privatization of the war on terror - but not in Iraq, here on the homefront. The hearing focused on two companies, Wackenhut Services Inc. (WSI) and Bechtel.

The title of the hearing said it all: Federal Contracting: Do Poor...

Some people were surprised to learn today that I participated in a news conference with the CEOs of several major corporations - including Wal-Mart, with whom our union has major differences. We announced the formation of Better Health Care Together, a new partnership committed to building the momentum and political...

Fashion and Culture

-Pumpkin will be this years black
-Heels and skirts will be up
-Angelina will adopt another child

Sports

-Shaquille O'Neal will retire this year
-Barry Bonds will beat Aaron's home run record but not playing...

Despite spinning to the contrary, the breadth of the changes in this election from State House right up to the door of the White House sends a message. Americans are insecure about their lives- abroad and at home. They are not looking for hand outs but a hand up--a government...

I am at the end of an extended tour around the country. The final stop is a rally for Houston janitors like Ercillia Sandoval. Ercillia has been nominated for Glamour magazine's Women of the Year for her leadership in trying to change the lives of 5,000 janitors who earn just...

Spent lots of time this week breezing down the West Coast and talking to SEIU members in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. I saw firsthand their enormous participation in this year's election - our union's greatest mid-term effort ever.

In our union we have adopted a more independent view of...

Ercilia Sandoval, a resolute woman battling breast cancer in Houston, has a good question for oil giant Chevron: Does Chevron really think that donating a minuscule percentage of its $14.1 billion a year profit to breast cancer research absolve them of responsibility for people like her?

Ercilia doesn't think so...

Another day of interesting encounters in Los Angeles.

I talked with and signed books for a lot of SEIU's strongest members from Local 434B, a union of more than 100,000 homecare and nursing home workers. At a couple of stops I told the story of Amanda Figueroa, who came...

I blew into Los Angeles this week and hooked up with SEIU members at a number of events. What I really appreciated was Robert Greenwald and Rick Jacobs of Brave New Films - a company that produces socially responsible documentaries on topics like the Iraq War, Wal-Mart, and FOX...

I spoke to a group of SEIU organizers who are learning to become trainers and mentors of newer staff. It was such a joy. This group of activists - mostly women and people of color - are on the front line of the effort to change our country. They are...

I had a chance to debate Stephen Moore from the Cato Institute and a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal's editorial page on a program called the Wall Street Journal Report, which will air Sunday on more than 200 television stations (check local listings at http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/CNBCTV/TV_Info/P8377.asp). He was...

The elephant in the room in our country - the issue no one wants to talk about - is how America is at a very big crossroads. People are anxious about their economic lives and their kid's future. They are falling further and further behind, and America seems to have...

One of the bonuses of writing my book - A Country That Works - was a chance to be a guest on the Colbert Show.

I earned a huge amount of new respect from my 20-year-old son just by being invited, but his reaction, "He is going to kick your...