Dear Delegates, Alternates, Honored Guests, and Staff. I'm excited and proud to deliver this year's state of the union address. This is the third time I have had the honor of delivering this message as your state president.

As you know, this year PSE is celebrating our 60th year as a statewide organization dedicated to furthering the interests of classified public school employees. 60 years ago, I imagine those few pioneering souls did not realize what they were starting when they gathered to form a network of classified employees back in 1948. But we owe them a debt of gratitude for making it possible for us to be where we are today.

PSE is a union rich with the memory of the struggles fought and key victories achieved through the past seven decades. Now look at us today as we meet in Spokane!

I want to start by taking an informal poll. How many members are attending convention for the first time? Would you stand up if you are a First Timer? Let's give them a hand! Now, I would like everyone else to stand – stand up if you're a returning delegate. Please remain standing if you have attended 5 or more PSE conventions. 10 or more? 15 or more? 20 or more? Let's give these members a hand for their service and dedication to PSE!

I thank you all for choosing to be active members in your union. All of you -- You are the lifeblood of PSE! – with generous hearts and selfless devotion, you sustain and give life to this union each and every day. And remember, the active members present today represent thousands more PSE members across the state.

I would like to start my presentation of my state of the union address to you today with a brief history lesson. I believe in order for us to understand and truly appreciate where we are today we ought to look back at how we arrived at this point. Before we take stock of where we are and set a course for where we want to go in the future, we first need to look back to where we came from.

Historically, there's no better place for us to look to understand PSE's place today than 1948. Historically and symbolically, nothing means more to PSE than 1948. That's why, when we affiliated with SEIU three years ago, 1948 was the obvious choice for our local designation. As I've thought about this a lot recently, I think we can draw several parallels from 1948 to where PSE stands today in 2008.

The first parallel is this. 1948 – does anyone remember that far back? If you do, you are what Randy Dorn likes to call the “Mature” and “Experienced” part of the group. More importantly, however, you're a part of what NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw called America's Greatest Generation. Those who lived through the war helped build a stronger America.

I believe those of you in this convention center – not just the mature and experienced – but ALL of you -- make up PSE's greatest generation. Here's why I believe this in my heart.

The number of core activists in PSE has DOUBLED in the past 18 months. We've been keeping track as PSE members have Stepped Up.
Let me present the evidence.

• Tall stacks of legislative action cards in 2007 and 2008
• Hundreds of documented phone calls to the hotline in Olympia
• Waves of new attendees at PSE conferences, academies, and convention
• Enthusiastic turnout at our marches and rallies
• New generations of local leaders taking office and attending trainings

More members than ever before are choosing to become involved because they see the ability to make a difference.

You – yes YOU – are PSE's Greatest Generation because you are helping to make PSE a stronger, a more active, and a more influential union than we ever thought possible.

And now for the second comparison. 1948 was a year not far removed from the greatest conflict our nation and our world has ever faced. Forced to enter a world war after being provoked at Pearl Harbor, the United States quickly mobilized into a great military power and won hard-fought victories in on the battlefields of Europe and Asia. 60 years later, we too in PSE are not far removed from perhaps our most difficult period of conflict.

How many of you recall when we met in Yakima in 2005? That was the year we lost two of our biggest chapters after successive raids by another union. In a sense, these raids were a not-so-civil war between competing unions. In the span of a few short months, we lost nearly 1,000 union members. PSE had represented those chapters for 35 years. We also lost a valuable Board member in the process.

After those losses, there was blood in the water and the sharks came looking for more. In 2005, a number of international unions attempted to raid our organization, including WEA. While we were successful in defending against these additional threats, raids on our membership cost PSE substantial resources. The raids also stretched the limits of our local leaders and staff – both worked tirelessly to preserve high levels of service to our members while battling professional organizers from Washington, D.C.

Just three years ago, we were still an independent union – without any ties or relationships with any large, international unions. We had nobody watching out for us. This painful experience led to the process of our affiliation with SEIU. Over the last three years, this partnership has allowed us to focus our resources on member benefits rather than member retention. It has given us the ability to focus all our efforts on enhancing the lives of the 50,000 educational support professionals throughout this state.

As we gather to celebrate our 60th anniversary milestone, we need to remember the strife and division we experienced so that we may fully enjoy and appreciate the fruits of today's labor peace.

We can hold rallies in Yakima and Spokane. We can support two outstanding candidates of our own for public office. We can win better wages, benefits, and working conditions. We can take on larger issues of social and economic justice because we have labor peace.

Let's never take strength and peace for granted again!

Back in 1948, our nation began a transformation from a wartime to a peacetime economy. This marked an unprecedented period of economic growth and industrial production in our history. Many still look back upon this time in our history as one of unlimited potential. It was during this time that America became the military and economic super-power that we are today.

In much the same way, since the raids of the past have been vanquished, PSE has begun realizing the potential that we can become and dreaming big dreams of what we can achieve. Where we once stood alone – independent, yet vulnerable – today our affiliation with SEIU is helping us to build strong ties with valuable new allies. We are learning to better understand the meaning of solidarity with other workers – both education employees, and also workers in health care, property services, and public-sector industries.

In addition, PSE is playing the lead role in organizing a nationwide coalition of school employees within SEIU to influence federal education legislation and grow the voice of our profession. As an active partner with SEIU, PSE is part of the largest, fastest-growing, and exciting forces the union movement has ever seen. We'll be sharing some highlights of the SEIU International Convention with you later this weekend.

On another front, PSE is becoming a super-power in organizing new members in higher education. In addition to our chapter at Western Washington University, this past year we organized new groups of employees at Central Washington University. These are exciting and challenging times for support staff at our colleges and universities and PSE is growing a whole new cadre of union members on our campuses.

With a commitment to grow, PSE also established an organizing department this year. We now have several staff assigned to growing our membership ranks and we're going to be recruiting a platoon of member volunteers who will help us in organizing campaigns. We expect to file for additional elections later this year to grow our higher ed ranks even more.

Within state government, PSE is exerting a leadership role in deciding how our pension funds are invested. Our former president Glenn Gorton is currently the chair of the Washington State Investment Board. Along with several lawmakers, the state treasurer, and other public employee representatives, Glenn and the investment board are plotting the course for solid returns on our investment for years to come. It's a tough job, but Glenn has really risen to the challenge. Glenn's chairmanship of the State Investment Board is the culmination of several years by PSE to gain representation. Today, we're more than represented. Like the E.F. Hutton commercials, when Glenn Gorton speaks, people stop and listen. Ladies and gentlemen, that's POWER!

Finally, our Stepping Up for Smarter Safer Schools campaign is gaining PSE notice and new levels of respect all around the state. We're educating politicians and holding them accountable for more stable and complete state funding. Our advertising campaigns have put pressure on budget-writers to fund our priorities. And the newspaper columns and editorials continue to influence opinion leaders and stakeholders.

And every week, more PSE members are connecting to the vision of the Stepping Up campaign and saying, “Count me in!” Each day, we're adding footsoldiers to the campaign.

In closing, let me say that I've often been accused of thinking big and dreaming big dreams. Without reservation, I tell you today, PSE is well on its way to becoming a super-power in the state of Washington. The state of our union is as strong as our imagination will carry us. I invite you to join me and your Board of Directors and buy into this grand vision for another 60 years.

With a solid purpose, if we work together, there is no limit to what PSE can do.

Thank you.