Clinton: ‘When unions are strong, America is strong’

By Chris Kudialis

Published Tuesday, July 19, 2016 | 1:27 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, July 19, 2016 | 5:15 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton advocated for expanding unions, Social Security and employee rights as she spoke to nearly 4,000 union workers at two Las Vegas rallies on Tuesday.

“When unions are strong, America is strong,” Clinton told members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees gathered at the Las Vegas Convention Center for their conference, held every two years.

In a 25-minute speech, Clinton criticized Republican candidate Donald Trump and compared Monday’s opening of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland to "The Wizard of Oz."

The convention, which entered its second day Tuesday, opened with controversy as anti-Trump Republicans attempted to change the rules of the convention to nominate a different candidate. A Monday night speech by Trump’s wife, Melania, mirrored a similar speech given by Michelle Obama in 2008 as her husband sought the presidency.

“When you pull back the curtain, it’s just Donald Trump with nothing to offer the people,” Clinton said as the crowd cheered and clapped inflatable thunder stick noise-makers.

She also condemned recent acts of violence against police officers.

“If you take aim at a police officer, you take aim at all of us,” Clinton said. “It’s a terrible crime, and it needs to stop.”

She advocated for reform in training for police officers to encourage “proper use of force” and to rebuild “trust in the communities they serve.”

Among those at the Convention Center rally was Massachusetts-based AFSCME Local 700 President Felix Martinez, a 20-year union worker with the local chapter.

“She’s for the working class, she knows how to get things done and she has the experience,” said Martinez, who represents the union’s greater Boston region, including the surrounding cities of Lynn and Salem.

At the Culinary Academy Training Center, 710 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Clinton continued the attacks on Trump while workers from the Republican nominee’s Las Vegas hotel lauded her for her role in fighting for fair wages.

“She’s willing to fight to keep families together, and willing to fight for immigrants,” said Celia Vergas, a housekeeper at the Trump Hotel who introduced Clinton to a crowd of about 150 culinary workers.

Clinton cited a drapery company that Trump once “stiffed” on a $400,000 bill, arguing that, between union workers, immigrants and small businesses, the presumptive Republican nominee had a “record of exploiting people.”

“He not only refuses to negotiate with you,” she said during the 10-minute speech,” he refuses to pay bills to business that provide services and goods for his properties.”

Also Tuesday, Clinton landed an endorsement from the Nevada Culinary Union Local 226 and its national parent union, Unite Here, whose 57,000 and 270,000 members, respectively, make it one of the Silver State’s and North America's most politically powerful unions.

Local 226 spokeswoman Bethany Khan said Clinton’s advocacy for immigrant families, call for immigration reform and dedication to affordable health care helped win her the union’s endorsement. A percentage of Culinary Union employees will be scheduled to take time away for their union jobs from August to November to assist with the Clinton campaign’s door-knocking and phone-banking efforts, as well as help voters register.

In both Las Vegas speeches, Clinton also pledged to make the largest federal investment in stimulating jobs since World War II, to reduce residents’ college debt and to “rewrite the rules” to force companies to share more of their profits with employees.

“I have this old-fashioned idea that our economy should deliver for you what you deliver for all of us,” she said.