Ellis-Lamkins: Let’s ‘tell Scott Walker to pack his bags’

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins asks “What I need to know is this: Are you ready to lead this country?” Photo by Rebecca Cook

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Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins was proud to wear red along with more than 1,200 delegates and activists on the final day of the 2011 UAW Special Convention on Collective Bargaining.

And she had plenty of questions for the packed hall at Cobo Center in Detroit.

“What I need to know is this: Are you ready to lead this country?” she asked. “Are you ready to fight for the America we believe in? Do you believe that every American deserves to support their families? Do you believe that we all have a right to health care? … Are you ready to stand on the forefront of the real American revolution? Do you believe the Constitution is for all and not for some? Are you ready to tell Scott Walker to pack his bags?”

A former leader in California's labor movement through the AFL-CIO and Working Partnerships USA, Ellis-Lamkins is chief executive officer of Green for All, an organization dedicated to creating green jobs to serve as an environmentally sustainable pathway out of poverty.

A great coalition builder, Ellis-Lamkins works to bring labor, environmental, business, grassroots and government leaders together in common purpose.

On Thursday, she reached out to UAW members to step up and take action against the right-wing attack on the middle class.

Many delegates from the Midwest where anti-worker legislation has been passed know firsthand what Ellis-Lamkins meant by her remarks about Gov. Walker of Wisconsin and other battleground states under attack.

Rick Ward of UAW Local 685 rallied at the statehouse in his homestate of Indiana. “All of the governors and state legislatures in Ohio,

Rick Ward of UAW Local 685 rallied at the statehouse in his homestate of Indiana. Photo by Eddie Henderson of UAW Local 31

Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, they've opened the eyes of the working people. This is an attack.”

Amid rousing cheers and applause, Ellis-Lamkins gave delegates an answer to take home to their communities when asked about the purpose of the union’s Convention.

“When they ask you what you were doing today, I want you to tell them that ... you were saving this country. That someone said that what you were doing is figuring out how your kids can buy a house. What you were doing is figuring out how our grandparents could actually pay a mortgage and have health care. That this isn’t about unions, because if this were about unions, you wouldn't be under attack. This is about the survival of an economy that recognizes that every American deserves to succeed,” she said.

Many UAW members have already taken a firm stance in this fight for the middle class.

UAW Local 1268 President John Gedney helped organize the buses that brought members to demonstrate in Madison, Wis., every weekend for six weeks. He said that many members who were not previously involved in the local came out in support of Wisconsin workers, a trend he hopes will continue.

UAW Local 1268 President John Gedney helped organize the buses that brought members to demonstrate in Madison, Wis., every weekend for six weeks. Photo by Eddie Henderson of UAW Local 31

“As labor leaders, we have to constantly inform the public about how important these jobs are to our communities and to our families. Without manufacturing and without good-paying jobs, we would surely suffer,” Gedney said.

Delegates recognize the importance of the nation’s current anti-worker climate.

“I'm inspired about the fight, because we are in for the fight of our lives,” said Gwen Winston of UAW Local 2209.

“I'm inspired about the fight, because we are in for the fight of our lives,” said Gwen Winston of UAW Local 2209. Photo by Eddie Henderson of UAW Local 31

Ellis-Lamkins said what we’re fighting for represents the values of all of us and not some of us. “I want this to be the day that in two years we look back on and say, ‘It began there.’ I want this to be in the history books, so people will say, ‘It was the UAW that led. They were the patriots.’ ”

Beenish Ahmed