Congressman Artur Davis Address

Alabama Congressman Artur Davis addressed the Region 8 luncheon at the 2006 CAP Conference. Region 8 Director Gary Casteel introduced Representative Artur Davis. Congressman Davis has made quite a name for himself in just four years in Washington and has proved to be a vital friend to working people. He has an excellent voting record with labor and is very involved in the issues that working class Americans face. Growing up in Montgomery, Representative Davis attended Harvard University on an academic scholarship and finished his law degree with honors.

“I appreciate all that you do for working class Americans,” Congressman Davis stated. “America thrives when workers are given the opportunity to bargain collectively. Tomorrow, we will travel to Atlanta to lay to rest a great worker for all Americans and that is of course Coretta Scott King. It could be said that Dr. and Mrs. King organized people as well. They knew that collectively we can accomplish more that when we stand alone. They believed that even the hardest heart can be opened when you show love and respect.

While the bus boycott was going on in Montgomery in 1956, Dr. King was holding a revival at one of the churches there in Montgomery. The Kings returned home that evening to find their house had been fire bombed. That such a violent act could occur against a man of peace brought many out to the home. The crowd was growing angry and emotions were spilling over. It is said that Mrs. King asked her husband to dismiss the crowd and sent them home before violence erupted. She knew that more violence wouldn’t accomplish anything and the crowd was sent home to cool off.

You know, these days it is not easy to be a working class person in America. There are pressures to lower wages, lower benefits, dump pension plans and outsource jobs to low wage countries. America’s workers need a level playing field but instead they find road blocks that prevent them from doing their job. We see the government passing budgets that reap more tax cuts on the wealthy while cutting programs that help working class Americans. It is frustrating and discouraging and sometimes our frustration can spill over. Believe me I know. Last week we debated the new budget on Capital Hill. We argued against cuts to food stamp programs, cuts to Medicare and cuts to college loans for students. This budget still passed by a slim vote. On CAFTA, we fought the good fight and made the case for defeating this ill-fated trade deal. Again, we lost a very close vote. When I get frustrated during these times, I think about Dr. and Mrs. King and their steadfastness in keeping on with the struggle with a peaceful heart and clear mind.

I still believe that America is a great country and that we can make it better. As I said, we have lost many close votes over the past two years. But, I firmly believe that we can make a difference so we begin winning some of these close votes. It requires a process of maintaining open and honest dialog. We must continue to educate people on the issues and make certain they take the interest of every American to heart. There is a connection we all share as American citizens and we must continue to find common ground and work for the good of all.
Mrs. King had every reason to be hurt, ever reason to be bitter and every reason to be angry but she never let it show. She kept the goal in her sights and never wavered on the mission.

I know it makes you angry when corporations try to cut wages, eliminate benefit plans and drop pensions that have been promised. Anger is natural, but the key is in how we manage that anger. The King’s didn’t talk bad about the people who opposed them, but instead they encouraged love and compassion. We have to believe in the power of dialog and resolve our differences collectively. Together we can make positive changes to the challenges we face as a nation, but it will not happen over night. We will win some along the way and there will be times we can’t win. We won last year on saving Social Security from the President’s plans to privatize it. Together we made the case for American people and we won.

I have to believe that if we continue to talk about the issues that we face as a nation, collectively we can make this a better country. Thank you again for being there for America’s workers and holding the line for dignity, safe workplaces and fair compensation. I look forward to working with you as together we build a better nation and a better world. Thank you UAW.”

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