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Im happy to be here with all of you and add my warmest welcome to Washington, D.C. Its not the happiest of places these days. Weve got a war, code orange, helicopters buzzing all the time, nerves on edge, and thats only the latest problems, because Washington hasnt been a very happy town for working people for some time since January 2001 to be exact.

Anybody who has been paying the least attention to what I have said and written over the past two years knows that George W. Bush is not my favorite guy. I dont think Ed or I or any one of us here is too high up on his list either, judging by his actions.

But, Im going to back off a little. I want to publicly wish President Bush well in one area. He is in charge of one of Americas greatest and most precious resources its men and women in uniform. We know because we, the working people of North America, are more likely to have been, or be related, to a man or woman in the military than are Messrs. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, or the leaders of Congress. I know that my old outfit, and many of yours, is over there right now slogging through the mud. We hope that this Administration succeeds, and we hope they know what they are doing. God help them and usif they dont.

War has a way of obliterating things not the least of which is our peoples attention span on other issues. There is also a tendency on the part of most decent people to mute criticism of the commander-in-chief during times of peril. Thats a noble impulse. But we also have to ask ourselves what principles are at stake.

The United States, we were told, started out trying to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction "in the hands of the worlds worst leader." Who does that sound like? Then, since none of the above has yet to be found, we decided that a regime change is what we were really after, than when that didnt bring raves we decided to call the war, "Iraqi Freedom." Which to me is like calling 14b "Right to work."

The Administration has stated that one of their prime objectives is to install a democratic society in Iraq once Saddam Hussein is gone. I know there are many people who dont believe that those are this administrations real objectives, but lets give Mr. Bush the benefit of the doubt.

And in that case, if the objective is to promote freedom and democracy, then it is not just our right, but it is also our duty to uphold freedom and democracy here at home by exercising the rights that we cherish. Our way of supporting the troops and their cause is to let freedom flourish here at home and to continue to fight for what we believe in.

To do that we must do as Ed indicated in his speech we must separate Bush the commander-in-chief from Bush the political leader of the United States. We support Bush the commander and hope he succeeds. But we have enough evidence in the third year of this administration to know that Bush the domestic leader is a total and abject failure and unfit to be given another term on the job in 2004.

Whether you look at the big picture or focus on the details, the results are the same. The Bush Administration is a disaster for all but the most privileged in our society. Their campaign to undermine working families has truly been one of "shock and awe." But in their greed and lust for power, the Bush loyalists are also eroding the very foundations of our economy and our society.

Strong words. Yes. But I do not speak them lightly. Nor do I exaggerate simply to make a political point.

One could run down the list of initiatives that the Bush Administration whether by administrative or legislative action has foisted or attempted to impose upon American workers. Individually, each may not seem to matter much. And at a time when troops are in the field, whining about our issues may seem inappropriate.

Taken together, however, the Bush agenda is not a collection of trivial issues. I believe it is nothing less than a conscious and deliberate attempt by one of the most anti-worker elitist administrations in history to remake American society to fit their vision of the future. And it is a future that I dont want to live in, and I dont think any of you or most of our members want to either.

Step back for a minute and take a look at the big picture. The pieces start to fit; the pattern becomes clear.

Look at the tax cuts. I dont personally know anybody who looks forward to April 15. So when the Administration dangles the words tax cuts in front of the people and gives out an immediate rebate, many respond eagerly. Eagerly, that is, until they actually look at the plan and realize that the real cuts wont put another dime in their pockets. You have to be pulling down money that puts you well into the uppermost income percentile of the country before you reap any benefit from the Bush tax cuts, and that aint us, brothers and sisters.

Then people start adding up what the cuts will do to public spending on popular programs and needed improvements for things like heath care, infrastructure, education, not to mention the war. And the money isnt there. Then people begin to wonder.

And then we take a look at the nature of the changes that Bush proposes. And we see that he is not just cutting rates, he is attempting to change the entire nature of the tax structure. He seeks to eliminate the inheritance tax that only kicks in for the very wealthy. He wants to eliminate the tax on investment earnings, claiming it is unfair to those who own stock. Many of us own stock, but it is tied up in IRAs or 401(k)s or defined benefit retirement plans. Therefore, the dividend cut goes to the wealthy investor class, not the working families who own stock.

That leaves earned income as the one horse left to carry the tax burden. Or to put it another way, the incomes you make off the sweat of your brow is taxable, while the income made by a fat cat sitting on his ass in the Caribbean is tax free. Thats the message. The poor slobs in the work force will carry the load of paying for schools, health care and public works projects and since we cannot do it alone, it will all have to be privatized. The rich get to reap the benefit to society without a fair share of the responsibility.

In the meantime, whats affecting real people in the real world? The number of Americans without health insurance is approaching 50 million and growing every day, may of them children. The number of senior citizens paying high prices for prescription drugs is increasing. Unemployment is up 308,000 jobs lost in February alone -- and the Administration fights every attempt to extend jobless benefits. They even cut the Department of Labor bureau charged with tracking the unemployed. If you dont see them, theyre not there.

Lets look at whats happening to jobs. The United States, and to a large extent Canada too, have simply tossed away much of their industrial base. Manufacturing jobs good, unionized jobs are disappearing so fast it is hard to even get an accurate count anymore. Much of this is due to trade policies developed by the corporate community and cheered on by a white-collar elite in think tanks, the media and some of our best friends in government. They indicated without saying it, that blue-collar work was overvalued, and it was only natural to let wages seek their bottom level overseas.

Well, the social elite arent laughing as much anymore. The Bush economic train wreck destroyed professional and administrative jobs along with others. Now their fondness for shipping jobs overseas is also biting them where it hurts. Because, a recent article in the Washington Post told of a new trend professional work in such fields as architecture, design and others is being done in China, India and elsewhere. The Internet and modern communication technology allows people to ship information instantaneously, and the time zone difference gives professional firms a 24-hour operation. Its shift work without the shift premium.

The report said that one consulting firm estimates that by 2015, more than 3 million white-collar jobs and nearly $140 billion in wages will have been transferred from the U.S. to other nations. And surprise, surprise professionals in other countries earn less than their U.S. counterparts. So next time you look at a set of blueprints on the job, check and see if they were designed by an architect in Shanghai.

While we take a certain "I-told-you-so" attitude, the hard reality is that this trend is every bit as disturbing as the decline in heavy industry. The jobs and dollars going overseas mean less opportunity, less investment, less economic strength here at home. It is one more example of the hypocrisy behind pro-corporate politicians who wave the flag when it suits them and then do everything to subvert the nation for which the flag stands.

Another example is the rush of corporate scandals that broke in the first years of the Bush Administration. These are the same people who put Bush in office. When the public spotlight was turned on some of the outrages committed by Enron and others, the Administrations response was a shrug and a slap on the wrists and opposition to any meaningful legislation to improve reporting and accountability and protect workers pensions from being ravaged. Then the Administration turns around and says corrupt unions are a bigger problem and is seeking to impose reporting requirements that would strain the resources of most local unions and take precious time and resources away from your ability to fight for your members. Thats what passes for logic in the Bush Administration.

And what happens if you raise your voice to protest whats going on? If the rare politician and they are getting rarer all the time dares to speak out for the little guy, he or she is branded a "class warrior," the implication being that it is somehow un-American. Class warfare is apparently okay if it is declared from the top, but how dare the rabble have the gall to fight back.

And in the meantime the public, including our members, are increasingly being spoon-fed the new party line by a media that is either too timid to be objective or out-and-out controlled by people who used to spend their time helping Republicans get elected.

Think Im kidding? Remember Roger Ailes who did the Willie Horton ads for George Herbert Walker Bush in 1988 and ran a successful right wing political consulting business? Hes now the head of the Fox News network. The right wing has embedded so-called "journalists" throughout the media, creating slant on the information the public receives that ranges from the bombast of talk radio to the choice of stories to report and how they are reported.

So what happens is that the big lie becomes easier to spread. If you want to keep concepts like the 8-hour day and the 40-hour work week in place, then you are hopelessly outdated and want to weaken productivity and the economy. If you think we need to keep our industrial base and protect good jobs in North America, then you are a protectionist and an isolationist. If you think its a good idea for homeland security workers to have their collective bargaining rights, then you want to weaken America and coddle of terrorists. Thats how the game goes these days.

Bushs father took office promising a kinder, gentler America, and didnt deliver. His son hasnt even bothered to sugarcoat it. This president, who lost the popular vote and won through the most suspicious circumstances since 1876, is attempting to impose an extremist agenda on this country, and he is dangerously close to getting away with it.

Like a spoiled rich son running through money earned by others, Bush and his administration have squandered precious resources. He inherited a federal budget surplus and has turned it into a deficit that could reach an all-time record $400 billion. He had a unique opportunity to reassert Americas moral leadership in the world following the outpouring of support from other nations in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Then he took a thumb-in-the-eye approach to dealing with other nations on issue after issue, and wonders why we have so little concrete support in our fight to remove his fathers booger man.

Brothers and sisters, nobody here is politically nave. All of us are capable of cutting through overheated rhetoric and zealous speechmaking. But believe me when I tell you that I am afraid for our future if the political climate does not change. And when I say "our," I am not speaking merely of the IBEW or even the labor movement, but of the future of freedom and democracy in the United States and, by extension, Canada and the rest of the world. Unions do not flourish in unjust societies. Working people do not have hopes for advancement in nations where a tight band of thieves control the wealth and the doors to opportunity. And yet I am afraid that is where we are headed.

We are getting pushed further out into the political wilderness, and we need to begin the trek back. None of us can do it alone, but together we can make that journey.

Do not underestimate your role in that process. You are the leaders of the largest branch of this Brotherhood. Despite setbacks, our construction membership still grew last year and has set a new record of 339,000. The IBEW is a major voice in the house of labor. What you say and do matters it matters to your members, your families and your communities.

Next year, 2004, is a presidential election year. Historically, that means turnout will be higher and have an impact on every race down the ballot. We have got to start telling the truth now about what is happening in this country and make our voices heard. And we have got to get our people out to vote to make sure that the voice of working America is heard before they try to take that away too. If were still talking about it and not doing it by this time next year, then it will be too late. You will be hearing more about this. We need the biggest political mobilization effort ever in our union and in the labor movement for 2004.We did a tremendous job of mobilizing in the last election but the right wing outdid us. The odds against us are steep, but we must begin now, and if we fail in 2004, then we must fight even harder until we win.

I do not define victory simply as having a Democrat in the White House. I define victory by restoring balance, perspective and compassion in this country. I define victory by making our grand ideals and treasured national principles something that lives and breathes in our lives. I want the real America to come to the fore and continue to serve as a beacon of hope and justice in a dismal world.

And there is no politician who can deliver that. It is a never-ending task that falls to all of us. As Ed tells us time after time, we must take responsibility.

I am reminded of the saying that is popular among activists: think globally, act locally. The labor movement is the place where that slogan truly applies. The best way to change the world is to each do our part in our immediate areas of responsibility.

I dont want you to think that I spend all my time thinking up rousing political speeches. As your International Secretary-Treasurer, I work in close partnership with Ed and enjoy the assistance of a very capable staff at the IO. We take very seriously our responsibility to help you do your job and fulfill your responsibility.

So lets go over our pension funds. Our funds, like all others, have been caught in a vise over the last few years. The stock market tumble and continued low interest rates have squeezed much of the income potential out of many investments. The current climate has made benefit increases impossible. We have reared back to take up the slack.

The NEBF still stands at $8 billion in value, down from its more than $9 billion height during the late lamented boom, but it is still a remarkable number in todays climate. A major share of the credit for that goes to very wise investment decisions by giants like Jack Moore and Ed Hill, and on Project Millennium, our first-class real estate investment program. You will see a video later in the conference about Project Millennium, so I wont give away the plot. But, I will tell you that our real estate portfolio has created 7 million man hours of work and returned 7.5 percent in an age when all major stock indexes have been running well into the negatives.

The Pension Benefit Fund has been faced with many of the same issues. And we are working to reduce administrative costs and streamline our operations as a way of maximizing the fund. As you have read in the Journal, we have retained Mellon Bank to handle payments to beneficiaries, and required the direct deposit of benefit checks. Mellon has instituted a toll-free number to assist our pensioners, and having their infrastructure behind us has been a boost, as a result PBF is still healthy.

You will also be happy to hear that we have not gone into deficit spending with our General fund. It has been nip and tuck lately, and our International Executive Council, President Hill and I keep a close watch, but mostly because of President Hill's severe cost cutting, we are still fine. I am also pleased to say that the Electronic Reciprocal Transfer System, or ERTS, continues to grow and be of tremendous service to local funds and our members. As of this past January 1, ERTS is the exclusive method to be used in making reciprocal transfers.

The system is working as designed. Problems that have arisen are being addressed by Crunchy Technologies, the firm we have retained to develop the system. To date over 22,000 members have registered on ERTS.

I urge you to make sure that your local fund administrative personnel tell us about any problems or suggestions concerning ERTS. As with all electronic systems, ERTS is constantly evolving. Your input will make it as effective and responsive as possible.

I am also pleased to say the IBEWs campaign to use the power of its pension funds to help change corporate attitudes continues to make progress. We work closely with other unions in this and are considered one of the leaders in the labor movement. Our work is having an impact!

Local 212 in Cincinnati participates in a group called the Cincinnati Worker Owner Committee, a local shareholder activist committee sponsored by the Building Trades Council. They have negotiated Responsible Contractor Policies at a number of local area banks. This has led to a $40 million project at Fifth-Third Bank going all union. This policy also has the potential of affecting over 100 future construction projects at Fifth-Third. The committee has even begun talks with two notorious anti-union companies, Kroger and Duke Realty, to implement Responsible Contractor Policies. It is amazing what can be accomplished through perseverance.

Good things are happening out on the West Coast too. Last year we were contacted by the Ninth District office concerning an organizing campaign they had going in California with Albertsons, one of the nations largest food and drug retailers.

We were asked to support a couple of our locals who wanted to go to the stockholders meeting to raise questions with the company regarding their construction policies. This is no small potatoes. Over the course of the next five years, Albertsons will be building almost 2,000 new stores and remodeling almost 700 of their existing stores.

The combination of shareholder activism and a multi-local organizing campaign led to a number of Albertsons stores being built with IBEW contractors.

Imagine what the potential would be if this strategy and campaign model were to be implemented across entire districts, if not nationally.

Shareholder activism has taken root in Canada as well, where we have set up a similar program. As a vital first step, a number of Canadian local union pension funds have agreed to participate in the Proxy Voting and Investment Tracking Services. This year staff from the International Office and local unions will attend a number of stockholder meetings of companies based in Canada. I expect to have some success stories to tell at next years conference.

Theres much more to be told about our shareholder activism program. I would urge all of you to stop by the Investment Tracking System booth in the hall and talk to International Rep Jim Voye and Greg Kinczewski from MARCO Consulting. The tools we have put in place can only help you if you use them.

Ive saved the best for last. As President Hill told you, he has decided to take the prescription drug bull by the horns. Our Canadian brothers and sisters are fortunate to be covered by a much better national health system with a decent drug program. But in the United States we simply cannot expect anytime soon that the prevailing corporate culture will soon allow the creation of a meaningful program for senior citizens or anyone else. And that is why we now have the Electrical Industry SAV-RX Plan.

We sat down with the SAV-RX group, with whom we have a plan for the officers and International staff. SAV-RX also provides plans for a number of IBEW locals. We told them we wanted a nationwide plan that IBEW members could utilize wherever they may be.

We also took into account that directive that all physicians live by first, do no harm. So we contracted with the Segal Company, a respected actuarial consulting firm, to do an analysis of six existing plans to compare them to our new program. The new Electrical Industry plan proved more cost effective than all of them. If those plans had used the SAV-RX plan, they would have saved a combined total of over $3.5 million.

Were able to generate savings like that because we have the nationwide numbers to get the best deal and, we believe this is the best deal. The plan will be available to any employer in any branch of the IBEW who has a collective bargaining agreement.

We are determined to keep our costs under control. We will do that in two ways. First, the Segal Company will audit SAV-RX on an annual basis to ensure compliance and help negotiate new terms. Second, at this time there are six other building trades unions that are looking to join with the IBEW in utilizing SAV-RX under the same terms and conditions we have negotiated. Their numbers, combined with ours, will give us greater economy of scale, more purchasing power and greater leverage with our provider to make sure that we are getting the best possible program for our members.

Information is being distributed to you at this conference for you to review all the details. And there are SAV-RX and Segal booths in the exhibit area. Im sure you will have plenty of questions, and we will do our best to answer them. I will just add one more thing. Wal-Mart has been excluded from the program. IBEW members will have plenty of other options besides spending their hard-earned benefit plan dollars at one of the most vicious anti-worker companies on the planet.

We hope that this is just the beginning. President Hill and I intend to take the same principles and the same negotiating power and apply it to a nationwide health care insurance plan that will be available to all IBEW locals. That is a much taller order, and it will not happen overnight. But we are making progress, and hope to have very good news in the future on this front.

Brothers and sisters, there is so much more to say and do. Our world has changed dramatically in a very short time, and it seems like a crisis looms around every corner. These are times that have seen company after company fail and once proud organizations crumble.

But the IBEW is still standing. And more than that, we are fighting and clawing our way forward. When I look out at this audience, I see dedicated, tough trade union leaders who have accepted the awesome responsibility of leadership, worthy heirs of the ten brave founders of our Brotherhood. But most of all, I see friends and true brothers and sisters whom I am proud and honored to serve with. This is our turn in the history of our great union. We have the responsibility to keep it going and preserve it for future generations, just as others have done before us.

Let me close with my favorite labor quote from Eugene V. Debs; 99 years ago.

"Ten thousand times has the labor movement stumbled and bruised itself; we have been enjoined by the courts, assaulted by thugs, charged by the militia, traduced by the press, frowned upon in public opinion and deceived by politicians. But, not withstanding all of this and all of these, labor is today the most vital and potential power this planet has ever known, and its historic mission is as certain of ultimate realization as is the setting of the sun."

International Secretary-Treasurer Jerry O'Connor speaking at the 2003 Construction and Maintenance Conference.

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