Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo's address to North America's Building Trades Unions in Washington DC on April 18, 2018
Governor Gina Raimondo addressed over 3,000 building trades leaders from across the United States at the annual NABTU legislative conference in Washington DC earlier today.
Here is the full text off her speech:
Introduction Thank you! I love having the opportunity to spend time with people who build things. Thank you Sean McGarvey. I am so grateful for your friendship and support, and for inviting me back to speak here once again. Brent Booker, thank you for your leadership and for everything you do to support America's tradesmen and tradeswomen. Terry O'Sullivan, you're incredible - I'm so thankful for our partnership. Armand Sabitoni - the pride of Rhode Island! I could not ask for a better friend or supporter. You are a champion for the building trades and you deserve so much credit for all of the exciting development that's happening back home in our small state. And to my own local leaders: Michael Sabitoni, Tim Byrnes, and Scott Duhamel, thank you for everything you've done to strengthen Rhode Island's middle class. We're not done yet. Let's keep going, and let's keep building. Rebuilding the Middle Class Deal For decades, there was a deal in America: if you worked hard and did what was expected of you, then you could raise a family with dignity and security. You could own a home, save for retirement, help your children pay for school, and even take time to visit beautiful beaches like the ones we have in Rhode Island! In recent years, though, that "deal" has come under attack. There are powerful forces in America that have been working to ensure that a privileged few do well, without any concern for what happens to American workers. In my state, the building trades got crushed by the recession. As recently as 2012, nearly one out four Rhode Islanders in the building trades were unemployed. When I was running for Governor, I would talk to tradesmen and tradeswomen. They'd been out of work three months, four months, nine months, a year. They were losing their homes. Losing their marriages. Losing their pride. We had to do something. Back in 2014, across Rhode Island, there weren't any jobs for laborers, but there was so much work to do.
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Introduction Thank you! I love having the opportunity to spend time with people who build things. Thank you Sean McGarvey. I am so grateful for your friendship and support, and for inviting me back to speak here once again. Brent Booker, thank you for your leadership and for everything you do to support America's tradesmen and tradeswomen. Terry O'Sullivan, you're incredible - I'm so thankful for our partnership. Armand Sabitoni - the pride of Rhode Island! I could not ask for a better friend or supporter. You are a champion for the building trades and you deserve so much credit for all of the exciting development that's happening back home in our small state. And to my own local leaders: Michael Sabitoni, Tim Byrnes, and Scott Duhamel, thank you for everything you've done to strengthen Rhode Island's middle class. We're not done yet. Let's keep going, and let's keep building. Rebuilding the Middle Class Deal For decades, there was a deal in America: if you worked hard and did what was expected of you, then you could raise a family with dignity and security. You could own a home, save for retirement, help your children pay for school, and even take time to visit beautiful beaches like the ones we have in Rhode Island! In recent years, though, that "deal" has come under attack. There are powerful forces in America that have been working to ensure that a privileged few do well, without any concern for what happens to American workers. In my state, the building trades got crushed by the recession. As recently as 2012, nearly one out four Rhode Islanders in the building trades were unemployed. When I was running for Governor, I would talk to tradesmen and tradeswomen. They'd been out of work three months, four months, nine months, a year. They were losing their homes. Losing their marriages. Losing their pride. We had to do something. Back in 2014, across Rhode Island, there weren't any jobs for laborers, but there was so much work to do.
- We had acres of land in downtown Providence that was just sitting there zoned and parceled but undeveloped for nearly a decade;
- We had the nation's worst roads and bridges;
- And it had been more than a generation since Rhode Island made a meaningful, statewide investment in school construction.
- In Washington State, one-third of students attend schools built before seismic construction standards were adopted;
- In Santa Maria-Bonita California, teachers report classroom temperatures sometimes reach 90 degrees;
- And less than half of the schools in Oklahoma - in the heart of tornado country - have tornado shelters.
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