Bruce Raynor
President, UNITE-HERE

The Middle Class in this country was not created by accident. It was built over years of struggle and guided by uncompromising vision. The workers who formed unions, and the leaders who joined their efforts in the private and public sector, are the true architects of the standards and conditions admired throughout the world.

The Drum Major Institute (DMI) is committed to telling that story. And it is a story that must be told now, as our middle-class becomes a relic of the past.

One in seven middle-class families applied for bankruptcy in 2003.

The top two reasons? Job loss and health care emergency. One in four of the newly uninsured earn middle-class incomes. The middle-class squeeze is rapidly becoming a middle-class crush, leaving many families afraid of the lay-offs that will determine whether they can take care of their sick spouse or put their child through college.

At the same time, labor union participation is at its lowest. It is not a coincidence that this takes place at a time in which so many Americans are united in their unease. We feel increasingly vulnerable in the face of a fragile economy that asks workers to take all of the risks.

DMI isn't afraid to ask those in positions of power what they are going to do about this sad state of affairs. Each year they release a Congressional scorecard that holds members feet to their fire. In fact, I gave their "Middle Class 2004: How Congress Voted" to all of UNITE-HERE's political directors throughout the country to help in our local organizing.

As a labor leader, I know how important it is that we have voices outside of the movement making the case for policy that strengthens and expands our middle class and those who want to work their way into it.

We can't just sit around and lament the sad state of affairs, or go from election to election and hope one day it all works out.

We've got to make the case to vast majority of Americans united by the fact that they get up and go to work each morning that a strong middle class and a strong labor movement are intimately connected.

DMI works on the issues that matter to my members. That's why I support them, and I hope you will, too.