June 16th, 2025: President's Message

America will never have a king. This weekend, all eleven counties in the Central New York Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO joined millions of people nationwide to show the administration and the world that we say no to kings and to oligarchy. I was pleased to attend the rally in Syracuse, where an estimated 7,000 people came together to spread the message.

I was even more pleased to see members of our union family from all sectors of labor. Public workers, private workers, trade workers, and retirees all came together for a common purpose. That is what the labor movement is all about. 

It is no secret we live in divisive times. It seems that as a society we are encouraged to focus on what separates us, but the reality is that there's much more that connects us. That's especially true in the labor movement. While we may not all have the same politics or come from the same background, we have to remember that we are united. Together, we have the power to bring massive change. History shows us time and time again that if we focus on what brings us together we can make a better life for all of us.

Whether it's the coal workers in Harlan County of the 1930's, the United Farm Workers movement with Cesar Chavez, or my own Hotel Syracuse strike in the late 1980's, the story is the same. While the struggle may be immense, when we come together and fight as a united group, we win.