AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler K Street Showdown, Washington, DC
May 17, 2010

Rich Trumka wanted to be here, but instead you have a union sister from Oregon who's no stranger to this rain.  Some people thought that the rain would shut us down, but we're here to shut K Street down.

Thank you all for coming down here to K Street today. It's good to see so many people on this notorious street that are actually fighting for workers instead of working against them.

K Street. It's just another congested road in DC, right?

Well, no. Actually, it isn't. And here's why. Over the past 30 years, long before the start of this recession, the corporate lawyers and their hired guns on this street made deals and bought friends to undermine America's working families.

It's happening right now—look what the Wall Street lobbyists are doing. We know the financial industry is spending $1.4 million a day right here on K Street.

We're told this is the way business gets done. Everyone's doing it. If you want influence, buy it. That's just the way it is.

Well, it may be the way business has been done…

But we're going gonna change that, aren't we?

The truth is K Street and Wall Street have been ripping off Main Street. It's a corrupt system and it's killing jobs and ruining our economy.

I'm talking about people losing their homes and everything they've worked for.  While Wall Street gets richer.

I'm talking about teachers getting pink slips and our children paying the price. While Wall Street gets richer.

I'm talking unemployment rates at a generational high. While Wall Street gets what? Richer.

That's what this street stands for.

We stand for holding Wall Street and K Street accountable.

We stand for rebuilding our economy with good jobs, and we want Wall Street to pay its fair share.

The 11 million jobs lost in this crisis are real jobs.

But they weren't really lost, were they? They were stolen.  Collateral damage.  The casualties of K Street and Wall Street.

We're not going to stand for that. We need good jobs now. We need to invest in America now. And Wall Street needs to pay.

So now it's your turn to become a lobbyist, too, but not a K Street lobbyist – a Main Street lobbyist.  A lobbyist for working families.

We need you to tell our leaders – tell every member of the House and the Senate -- that it's time for Good Jobs Now.

And we need you to join the AFL-CIO, Americans for Financial Reform and our allies like National People's Action and call your senators as they're taking votes on Wall Street reform.

Tell them: Vote for working families, NOT for Wall Street. Give us Wall Street reform that guarantees the Big Bankers will never again destroy our economy and our jobs.

We want good jobs, and we want them now!

What do we want?  Good jobs.

When do we want them?  Now.

Before we go, let's remember who we're fighting for.  We're fighting for people like Joel Hirschey, a science teacher from North Syracuse Junior High School who was laid off.  He's married to a math teacher who lives with the constant threat of job loss, too.

See the video: