"It’s really great to be here with all of you. And it’s an honor, President Schaitberger, always to be with you, and an honor to serve alongside you on the Homeland Security Advisory Council.

Your president, Harold Shaitberger, is one of the most forward looking leaders not only of the labor movement but also when it comes to public safety and homeland security and understanding that when the bad stuff happens, the phone doesn’t ring first in Washington DC—it’s 911. And it’s all of his members who go into the places that the rest of us are running away from. So, Harold, thank you for your leadership for a stronger America, for a safer America, and for also understanding, as you do, with the guts that you show in the political arena—that the fight for a growing and stronger middle class is all of our fight. And that we’re all in this together.

I also want to thank, as well, General Secretary Tom Miller, and to your 4th District Vice President and the former President of the Baltimore local, Bill Taylor.

And thank you to Mike Rund and the Professional Fire Fighters of Maryland, many of whom I saw in the hallway on the way in here, for your early support and all your hard work in this last campaign in 2010 where we were able to defeat our Republican opponent by twice the margin as we had the first time out, four years ago. That would not have been possible without the help of the fire fighters of Maryland and I thank you guys for that.

And Kevin O’Connor, thank you for everything that you do and for your friendship.

Fire deaths in our State are down 32 percent (knock on wood) thanks to the hard work of the firefighters of Maryland. And it will always be one of the highest honors of my life to stand beside you, stand behind you, support firefighters and the tremendous work they do for all of us.

To the brave and dedicated ranks of the International Association of Fire Fighters—those who are here today and the 300,000 you represent across the nation, I want to say two words that you do not hear enough, and they are: Thank you.

Thank you for everything that you do every day to protect the lives. And thank you for what you also do in leading the good fight for SAFER, and leading the fight for FIRE grants. You are fighting hard because you know that SAFER and FIRE grants keep firefighters on the job. You know they ensure that your departments have the funding to support you and your fellow firefighters. And speaking as a former Mayor, I can personally attest to what SAFER and FIRE grants mean for the city’s ability to protect and support the brave men and women of our fire departments, equipping us with the interoperable communications and systems that save lives.

I also want to thank you, not only for risking your lives every day, but for what you’re doing right now in the political arena—especially at this time in our country’s history. You know, there are some things that we can only do when we do them together, and improving public safety is one of them. It’s the most important and sacred responsibility of a free people, and therefore, those of us in government need to stand behind you so that you can continue your life saving work of protecting all of us.

President Shaitberger has asked me to share with you a few thoughts about how we can tackle these challenges together—especially as our country is now facing this confusing time as we try to retool and retune and make this new changing economy ours. You and I know that our country can only succeed in this economic competition if we are also protecting public safety.

The flagpin I wear is not any flagpin. It is 15 stars and 15 stripes. The flag that flew at Fort McHenry. The flag that gave birth to the Star-Spangled Banner.

The story of that happened in 1814. Washington DC, the town where we sit, had been sacked and burned to the ground by the shock and awe attack of the British army. And the British general said that he was going to march on Baltimore, dine there (because even then Baltimore had great restaurants), and then he was going to burn Baltimore to the ground.

But the people of Baltimore had something different planned. Instead of running away, they stood up. They dug trenches over Patterson Park. Many of the merchants sunk their own ships—their own livelihood—in the harbor to block the oncoming British navy. 60 percent of the defenders of Baltimore were immigrants. One out of five were black citizens of a still as yet very imperfect country. But they joined forces, and they carried the day. They stood up together against those odds.

Well, the onslaught and the shock and awe that we face today is not that of the British army. It is instead a narrow-minded ideology that would put tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans ahead of public safety for America. And you and I need to stand up and say, ‘That is not the country we protect. We are better than that and we are in this together.’ … We are better than that.

Now these other guys, many of them in ‘the tea partying wing of the Republican governors,’ they stand up and say, ‘We want to take us back.’ They want to take us back. I’ll tell you where they want to take us back to—they want to take us back to the days of Coolidge. They want to take us back to the days of Hoover, when what our nation needs right now are leaders in every statehouse that want to move us forward. That want to move America forward. That want to be able to look our grandkids in the eyes and say you’re going to enjoy a better quality of life and better opportunities than the ones that we have enjoyed.

Like the patriots of Baltimore, we need to stand together in the face of this narrow-minded ideology. And we do stand with you in Maryland as all of you stand up against the Midwestern repression that we’ve seen in Wisconsin and that we’ve seen in Ohio and that’s being threatened now in Florida. Public safety employees deserve the same decency and respect as every other employee in this world.

Look, don’t get me wrong: You know better than anyone else the way local governments are strapped. And you know the cause of it, too: It’s a recession that was brought about by the prior administration in Washington—the worst recession that we have seen since the Great Depression. The road ahead is not easy, but the tea-partying Republican governors want to use these difficult times to sharpen their ideological ax, settle old scores. They want to sharpen their ideological ax to permanently cut pay and benefits to you. They want to sharpen their ideological ax to do away with your ability to collectively bargain. They want to sharpen their ideological ax to do away with your ability to organize.

I have never known a successful company in the private sector that ever improved performance, improved efficiency and improved production by waging war against their own employees. I’ve never seen it. These fellows say, ‘Why can’t government be more like a business?’ When did you ever see a business where the CEO went after his own employees? Took away their right to bargain? Tried to put a gag on them and told them they couldn’t be involved in the political process?

We know. We know—you and I know that public sector employees—whether they are firefighters, teachers, or whomever—they deserve a seat at the negotiating table. In fact, the public is best served when labor and management join forces together—not only in times of ease but especially in the toughest times to protect the priorities that unite us. They deserve the right to collectively bargain, just as we know that process is used for much more than just paychecks and pensions and benefits.

Take the example of our Professional Fire Fighters of Maryland. They have been a tremendous partner in upping our game on homeland security, in saving lives, in delivering progress for our people. We need to be able to hear that voice. We can’t improve public safety in these challenging times unless we are all at the table. And notwithstanding the fiscal and political difficulties of these times, we know that we are stronger when we are able to talk with each other. When we’re able to treat each other with dignity and respect.

The tea-partying Republican governors would have us believe on the contrary that ending collective bargaining is somehow a fiscal necessity—but you and I see it for what it is: It is a political ploy. It is ‘get even’ time. It is take out the ideological ax. Some of these states, they’re even pushing through tax cuts for the wealthiest people and then turning around and telling the public employees that they need to make up the difference because, ‘Golly, times are tough.’

Well if times are tough, why are they pushing through tax cuts for the wealthiest of people who’ve already enjoyed a windfall? You know what? Our federal tax burden right now in terms of percentage of GDP is lower than it’s been at any time since Harry Truman.

And yet the Republican governors would have you believe that they’re the only ones in the 50 states that balance their budgets. We all balance our budgets. Some of us do it showing dignity and respect for the people that are being asked to sacrifice every day, that are asked to be part of the solution. Some of their guys instead have chosen to use this as ‘get even’ time.

In Maryland, we understand the importance of working together with labor. We deal openly, honestly, and with respect. And yes, sometimes we’re not always able to agree. But there is one fundamental thing upon which we always agree. And that is that we sit down at the table. That we appreciate the work you do. That we honor the work you do. And that we honor your families and the sacrifices you make.

We have had to cut about $5.6 billion over the last four years in our State. And yet, we’ve built what’s regarded as the #1 public school system in America for three years in a row. We’ve been able to lower fire deaths. We’ve been able to reduce violent crime to its lowest levels in years. We have been able to go four years in a row without a penny’s increase in college tuition.

And together with the Professional Firefighters of Maryland we have improved public safety and fire safety.

We are investing in a statewide interoperability network, enhancing your capabilities to improve public safety—not using this recession as an excuse not to do that, but using the imperative of what we face in this time of asymmetrical warfare to say that we must do it now. We would not have been able to do that without the firefighters helping us to protect that priority in our budget.

Together, we have secured millions in Homeland Security and Port Security grants in our State, things we would not have been able to do without you and your organization.

Together, we’ve enacted a law for safer-burning cigarettes, working to take one more fire-starter out of the equation.

And together, we’re committed to protecting our fire fighters from cancer and other occupational hazards.

We’ve done this, and more while working together with organized labor—not only keeping our collective bargaining laws intact, but in our State, we’ve actually been expanding collective bargaining. Not demonizing or degrading the people who work hard and serve the public because of their vocation, but coming together around the table and finding ways to move forward together.

Unions and efficient government. Unions and improved performance. Unions and improved public safety. I don’t see them as mutually exclusive. I see them as something that’s integral to be brought together if we’re going to accomplish what we all hope for, not only for our generation, but for the next.

In conclusion, let me just say this: We undoubtedly face tough economic and fiscal times, with tough choices (and they are not easy) and determined opponents who want to use this time to advance their ideological cause. To take us back to the days of Coolidge and Hoover. But we do not run away. We band together and stand up….

So when they try to pull our seat from the bargaining table, we can’t lie down. We have to stand up.

When they push for tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans instead of jobs for firefighters, do we lie down, or do we stand up?

[Audience: Stand up!]

When they try to make cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent a higher priority than public safety, do we lie down, or do we stand up?

[Audience: Stand up!]

When they try to take us back to the days of Coolidge and Hoover, do we lie down, or stand up?

[Audience: Stand up!]

My friends, the best days in life are not the easy days. They’re the tough days when you pick yourself up off the mat and you move forward. These are pivotal times. And I applaud this organization, and I applaud your courageous leader for not lying down, for not running to the back, but for standing up wherever that fight is taken. Whether it’s Wisconsin, whether it’s Ohio—wherever that fight happens—it’s a fight that is not restricted to just one state. It’s a fight for our country’s future, it’s a fight for a safer future, and it’s a fight for your future. Let’s stand together and let’s stand up and move forward.

Thanks very much."