All right.
Alright, so give me a sense of how
you're feeling, how we do it.
You know, I'm feeling really good
about the race.
I'm feelin' really good about what
my team is doing.
We are going all across the
state, all 72 counties,
talking to everybody because I
firmly believe you can't lead if you
don't listen.
And you know, what I'm hearing from
people is what I think a lot of
people are hearing is that
people are kind of feeling squeezed
economically and they want somebody
who's gonna come not just talk about
those issues but have plans to make
sure we can lower costs for
Wisconsin.
So the last round of polling, a lot
of undecideds, a lot people still
paying attention.
How do you talk to people that are
really clued in that don't
understand those people who may be
worried, like why aren't you out to
a huge lead but saying it's still
early, but also like
winning over those people and
letting them know who you are.
Right, yeah, you know, it is really
early. About 65% of people
have not decided who they're
going to vote for governor at this
point in terms of the Democratic
primary.
And what I say to them
is really look at who can win in
November, who has the most
experience, who's been able to win
in difficult races.
I live in Waukesha County, which
isn't exactly a bastion of
liberalism, and I was able to flip
a district there.
I think we are a purple state.
We want somebody who's going to be
leading this state.
Who's going to be able to reach out
to the other side of the aisle and
actually get things done.
How do you see the campaign kind of
dovetailing right now with Chris
Taylor's run for Supreme Court as
people are kind of waking up to that
race?
Yeah, I do think
that people are going to be paying
attention to that Supreme Court race
and then I think right after that
race they're going to be paying an
attention to the next one which is
going to be the Governor's race in
the midterms.
And so yeah we're going to continue
to make sure that we're talking to
people this entire time.
We're going start gathering
signatures in April and then
to the primary in August and then to
November.
I mean, is there kind of like a
piggybacking off that of like the
grassroots can get activated for
that and keep them engaged?
Yeah, I do think so.
I think people are going to be
starting to knock on doors for that
Supreme Court race and they're going
to start reminding people that not
only is there a spring race coming
up, but then you're going up another
race in August that you're going to
have to be voting for.
So reminding people that this is
really important and that who you
elect for the Democratic primary
is going to be important for the
general.
And talk to me a little bit about
the importance of being in an event
like this with labor.
Yes, so I come from a
working-class family.
My mom was a proud labor
union member, and so this comes
from my childhood.
And I know how important it is
to be able to have collective
bargaining within the state and
to make sure that everybody who is
able to work has dignity
in their job, but also
are gonna have the benefits and the
security that labor and unions
provide.
That's all we need from you now.
So we'll let you go mingle.
Thank you. Thank you.
Appreciate it.
That was over for me.
We both became the irony.
Okay, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, either
you or RJ, for a second I was
like...
Yeah, I don't know, I keep saying
it.
Yeah, no, no.
It's okay, it's okay.
Yeah, we had a huge crowd over
there. Good, I think there's a ton
of excitement. I think so too.
So I'm hoping the convention that
we're going to have today is going
to be pretty rad. Yeah.
And then we're trying to do a
fundraiser here in Black, too.
Awesome.
I love it, I love.
Well good, anyway I can help, let me
know. Well, who knows if you guys
want to come? Well, you know, if you guys want to come?
If you guys wanna come to the...
So we're shooting for April 26th.
It's a Sunday.
I want to do a chili cook-off.
Okay.
You don't have all the
kind of green stuff.
But it's kind of changed me, chili
and soup.
Chili and soup, I love that.
That's awesome.
Well good, well I'm not allowed to
say yes to anything on my channel
because they always have something
cooking and they get mad
if I do that.
No, that's okay. I'm gonna be kind
of invited as many times as
possible.
Cause I think we can do like a
little fundraiser, we can use
signature stuff.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I think it's great.
Well, good.
Awesome. Well, Good.
Good seeing you. I'm going to wander
around.
Yes!
Sarah Rodriguez, Lieutenant
Governor. How are you?
Good.
Hey, how are you doing?
Good. Good, good.
Hey, How are You?
Do you look like this lady?
I do look like that lady.
I know.
I do. Sometimes.
They glam you up.
Oh, this is an AI picture.
I know. Do you remember?
I know, do you remember those glamor
shots? That's what it always feels
like.
Okay.
I know.
Why?
So what's your hat button for while
you're running?
So, I mean, I think
it's what people are telling me,
which is that these are
costing way too much and
that people are on fixed incomes,
are struggling to pay their property
taxes.
Health care costs are just going up
exponentially.
I mean, child care comes up all the
time, too.
It's so expensive,
even if you can't always
find it.
You know? Because there's like child
care deserts all across the state.
I'm just glad my kids are old now.
They're 16 and 19.
So I got one down.
He's in college.
I got 1 to go.
So hopefully they both watch.
And we just got a black letter
two weeks ago that our risk was
going up 7%.
It's 80 hours.
That took care of the social
security.
Great.
And then the cost of gas
is going up now, because of the
stuff going on in the Middle East,
and then
food prices are going up.
I've seen my grocery store go up.
It's too much.
I agree, I agree.
So we have to really have concrete
plans about how we're going to be
able to address those things.
I think it has to be important, but
supporting unions is one way to do
that. Because we know that what we
have...
Yeah,
very good. It's very good.
I think I'm going to tell this to my
wife. I've spent some money.
Yeah.
Let's see. I don't know how you live
out here. Yeah.
You can't, yeah.
Yep.
Now they don't have a process.
We were only going to think 18
months ahead from what we knew about
it.
Yeah.
That takes out a lot of your Ford
KISS effect.
And it's been, what I hear from
people too is, you
know, you need to be able to plan
and everything within the Trump
administration is so chaotic that
you can't even plan for
a year or two, or how do you budget
as a business owner, how do budget
as the farmer.
It's almost like he's got to make a
decision to think if he's going to
die the best day, but he doesn't.
Oh, jeez.
Oh, my goodness, oh, my good man.
Well, I mean, that's, you know, what
do you feel like? I know, it's just,
like, he's not thinking, like
thinking. I don't think he's
thinking.
No, no.
I mean truthfully, I think it
doesn't need to be, but I think he
might think it'll be funny.
You know, I'm a nurse by background,
and in my clinical opinion, the
cheese has slid off the cracker.
I know.
I think that was important, yes.
What did you say?
But his favorite is a lot
of rice short of the hand cream.
That's his favorite restaurant
anyway right here.
You
Well, nice talking to you guys.
Thank you guys.
Thank you.
I mean, for some reason,
everything's like, you know, like,
they're in the same place, right?
I mean I don't know why.
Okay, let's have that face.
I know.
I know,
I know I know I am sorry I
am I am
All right, Al, we'll catch you a little
later when I'm talking to you.
I know.
I know!
How are things going?
No idea.
I don't look.
It's okay.
Because it just changes so rapidly.
They were all saying that, all of
it, all the people in the room.
All my wife is saying that.
No!
I don't know where it might even
end somewhere.
Do you want to read it?
Yeah.
She's over there. She's the little
thing. Beautiful.
Go ahead. We're going to move stations
in each room.
Yeah, she's talking to you.
I will stand with you
if I can.
I'm happy to see you.
I'm sorry.
Do you have a trash?
Where do you want it?
I mean, it's right there.
OK.
Bring it out.
All right.
Are coming.
Okay, so I figure out babies.
I hope so.
The internet or I might be doing a
video because I feel like it might
be in...
All the governor candidates are
coming because of the Democratic
Governors Association.
Sorry if I'm not there.
I'd like to have to visit you again.
I'll just knock on your door.
Hi Sarah.
Hey, how are you? I got your name
right tonight.
You did!
It's all good.
Don't worry.
This is the taste though,
I think it's just a
little bit too much.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Yeah. That'd be good.
Struggling to find different things
to go to support for.
Yeah. We don't have an actual
kitchen there.
Oh, OK.
Yeah.
The guy that runs it is
a satirist.
Uh, a new catering company.
Trace and see if you like it.
She has no idea what she's doing,
it's like no clue.
And so my whole goal, she's a junior
this year, is to make her shadow
every job she's ever thought
about or mentioned to me ever.
And one of the things she talks
about is like woodworking or
welding,
like, it's really cool, totally
cool. I hope this will be
interesting to you, so.
She's kind of artistic,
she's really good at math, and I
kind of like, she likes working with
her mother and stuff like that.
Do you see me?
There's plenty of you guys from the
world before, huh?
Yeah.
Thank you.
Yeah,
she's 16, yeah.
And just take it out and get
a stick in your hand
and start kind of
like a friendship all the time.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
I don't think her school district
has that, which is unfortunate, but
yeah, it's interesting.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Thank you.
How are you? Pleased to meet you.
Pleased meet you, very nice.
Thank you guys for being here.
Well, absolutely.
Thank you for your speech.
Okay.
Your speech is more. I am
speechified. You're speechified
today. I am speachified.
This is cold.
Okay. I can't!
I wouldn't blame you, you know,
if it was anything else, it's
totally fine. It is Wisconsin,
so put a little bit of
whiskey in that and nobody would
think it out. Not me.
Not you. No, no, no.
Tea totaler.
You would
have to, you know, wake me up
for tomorrow.
I'd have to be the one to like, walk
away.
I always say, we're
always going to try to give me a
drink before I speak, and I'm like
oh I don't drink ever before I
speak. God knows what I would say.
So tell me now, since you're going
to be our next governor's man.
Thank you.
Are you glad you're having this
governor? Yes.
I know.
There were just so many things that
he didn't even let go through that
the vast majority of Republicans and
Democrats wanted.
Is there any chance?
Is there any chance to know?
That because
the maps are now supposedly
fair, that we...
I could get a trifecta.
It is possible, no.
We have a 5% swing towards
Democrats and they have a trifecta.
So we have to flip two seats in
the Senate.
They look like the maps look
great.
We have to put five in the Assembly,
four of those more than a percentage
point when Trump is on the ballot.
So if we have a little bit of
a swing, we
have trifectas coming.
It'll be tight.
I don't care if it's tight, just so
we can do it.
Do all the things that we wanted to
do and that's what I always talk
about is that we'll only have
two years you know and we get a
democratic trifecta to show people
who's like the democrats ever and
if we are
do not have our
stuff, I was going to say something
else, we're stuffed
I'll say it for you.
Thank you.
And then, you know,
they're going to flip the right
thing up to Republicans because
that's why it doesn't matter.
Right? You told us you were going to
do all these things, but you didn't
do them.
That's the way they always do it.
I know. And we're such a fickle
little state, so we have got to make
sure that we have the right person
at the top of the ticket, we flip
those chambers, and then we
get the issues out.
Yeah. You know.
So we need to be able to do that.
So all right, that's my goal.
OK.
Okay, I'm right
there with you.
I appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
I was up there earlier.
I could have been up there a little
bit, but they had decent
snow. It wasn't as bad as it
had been the last portion of the
school, but there was no more snow.
Yeah.
Yeah. No, I thought they usually do
a switching app.
Yeah, they usually.
Yeah, I don't know that you're
happy that you just didn't do this.
Maybe I just didn't have enough ice.
I think they usually do it
themselves. We do.
And then we just make sure that they
say it right.
We've had ice up here about a
thousand times.
Yeah, and every time I go...
Yeah, and every time I go fishing to
the EW, the fish are
always fighting right
before I got there, and then they
fight right after I left.
And I have
bad luck, although I do beat the
gusher and the fisher.
Every year we'll
be back.
We'll see you next year.
So what's he going to do when he
retires?
No, you know I don't think...
I think.
You know, he was saying he was going
to go to all the state parks, he
said he'd be good at those.
That would be amazing.
So yeah, I think, and I imagine
he'll continue to consult in an
education policy or something.
He's done such a great
job. In Wisconsin,
he's done a really
amazing job, particularly with the
hostile legislature.
I think that that's important.
All right. All right.
How are you guys?
Look at the top, Tiffany.
Oh my god.
I know. Oh my God.
Do you know the problem?
Because you're a panel of state.
Yeah. Yeah.
I'm a panelist.
That's where we need the right
candidate at the time of the ticket.
We do, because we're a purple state.
Up north at 29.
Yeah.
But he is underwater, so,
and he's doing well.
I have gone to this nightclub
at the DWD like
who would not.
Are you still struggling with it?
Well, no, I went to court and I
lost.
But the point is, one
clerk came in and they did the whole
right to work rep.
They added on that stupid one week
of waiting.
And then they made it so that the
Department of Workforce Development
can go back 18 months to
any employer you worked for.
And I had a little part-time job
with Bird World, like
a year ago. I mean that I quit.
I quit, I quit!
And then they made, I did the whole
determination thing with their
attorney who said, I know what you
want to tell us because we didn't
hear what the lawyers were going to
say.
And then, they decided, they
did another reversal on that and
they decided that while I was...
We'll see, we'll see.
Thank you guys for being here
supporting.
Sarah Rodriguez, Lieutenant
Governor.
Hey, how are you?
Sarah Rodriguez.
Lieutenant Governor, okay.
Nice to meet you.
Oh, you're going to fall.
Yeah.
Hello, Hunter.
How are you? Are you also union or
are you just supporting Dad?
Just supporting Dad.
Okay.
Okay, so, good, good.
How old are you, like?
Okay, you're the real person.
Okay, yeah, yeah.
I can't tell them how old you
are. I told you last year.
So everybody looks like a baby to
me. So, I was asking
her, she's 16.
She doesn't know what she wants to
do, and so I'm
making her go to a
bookstay program, it's
like a summer program where you go
through all the building tutorials
and then you...
Sarah, I'll talk to you in a bit.
Okay, sounds good.
Yeah, so we're gonna see if she
likes any of that stuff.
Yeah, he's a lantern.
Oh!
I don't know.
She has no idea what she wants to
do.
I know, but it's not...
Like she's
like police officer,
hairdresser, veterinarian,
welder, like pick
at least the right, you know?
Exactly.
But no, no, it's still the same
person.
And then figure out
what she was listening to.
So I went.
You guys, you're strong.
You know, we're doing things,
but you know.
Oh, okay.
Yeah. Well, I love you too.
Yeah.
How do you think? Are people paying
attention yet to the Supreme Court
race, or still kind
of no? Still kind of.
April,
yeah, it's coming up soon.
Right across the table.
Yeah. Have a good one.
And that's also the thing here,
because honestly, none of the local
elections are really just that.
Oh, okay.
Like, no county board, no school
board, no post city council.
So, it's great.
Exactly, the only race is that one,
and then referendum.
Well, and I think it's a little
warmer. People can get outdoors.
Exactly.
Wait, what are sign guys doing?
Yeah, once we can get signs out.
Signs where the brown's not frozen
so you can stick with them.
Do you
really?
Not bad, not bad.
Yeah.
The GPS is a drill,
and it gets through
the frost.
It's fit.
Hold on a bit.
No, I don't.
There you go, that's true.
It's my primaries in August.
I don't know, I can't tell you.
Well, awesome!
Thank you guys for the work you do,
honestly.
Good to have you here.
It's not easy, yeah.
Thank you, people.
My daughter has no idea what she
wants to do in her life, because
she's a junior, she's 16.
So I'm making her go to
building trades, because this summer
program called Big Step,
and so I'm going to make her go for
that. Just to see if she likes it,
you know? Because she's good at
math, she likes working with her
hands, which is nice sitting in a
classroom.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And she speaks Spanish, doesn't she?
Very valuable.
Okay, so here's my problem
with this chat, which I love dearly,
is that she can't even pick like a
language, okay?
So it's like, so she goes to like
police officer, hairdresser,
veterinarian, welder,
and then she came up with their
speech and I was like, okay,
can we just like...
Try your luck.
So we'll see.
Yay, over here!
Bien, bien, gracias!
Aww, very good.
I'm going to say hello.
I know.
I hide him.
No, he's from Mexico.
So I cash in my chips
very carefully when
I bring you along.
So, you know, you know in a marriage
you gotta like cash in, you really
care.
Well, I guess, I haven't been here
long, but sometimes you know what I
mean.
I know.
So, um, oftentimes if it's like an
electrical object, you've got to
re-roll, you know, to see if it
works out, yeah.
But he has to travel.
I'd rather go out with the guys.
Thank you.
This is a good one.
I am.
I am I am I am
I am I am I am I am I am I am I am I
am I am I am
Right now, right now.
That's scary.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Thank you. Thank you, I got it.
And then for me, it's a
strawberry. Yeah.
So it's like a strawberry milk.
Yeah.
Thanks.
Thank you, appreciate
it, thank you.
You will probably see me many, many
times. I am running all
over the stage with all the things.
I think that I can do that.
Thank you.
OK.
Yeah.
Okay.
How's it going?
Okay.
Yeah.
I had a moment where
I genuinely thought on that
trip that I was going to go on.
I don't know.
Well, there was a
whole bunch of them that had that
happen, so I'm just glad
that the weather's getting better.
Yeah.
Everybody gets to everybody and
that's the best gift I've ever had.
I'm really excited
to say thanks for being here and
helping support these unions and
just labor.
Thank you very much.
If you are interested, you can read
the literature out there.
So if you are about my platform, who
I am, I want to be part of my trade.
I'm one of the candidates
running for Congress in this
district, so if you guys got
any questions at all,
I'm more than happy.
Leave a card.
I do have a card,
but more importantly I'm
happy to just talk to people.
I've been a union member for 17
years, so it's not exactly
out of my norm.
I'll be around.
Parties means anything in plants.
You're going to designate it for us?
No.
I've got to see in order to get all
these plumps.
I don't want to. By the way, I'm one
of the candidates running for
Congress in the 60s.
That's why we're all here.
But also, I would have probably come
here anyways because I've been a
17-year member.
It's nice because I...
Oh
dinners I went to anyway.
I just have to dress like a
little, I would have worn a t-shirt,
honestly, to buy a billboard.
Thank you.
I bet she would, and she wouldn't
get in a while, it was real quick,
real quick.
Welcome, welcome,
welcome everyone to
the 57th Annual
Vondelak Labor
Council Recognition Dinner.
Everybody please take their seats.
I'm sorry.
Thank you very much.
Quick announcement,
everybody that has their ticket,
this year we kind of changed it up.
A little bit.
We've got a ticket
stub, so if you put your stub
in the rattle,
right against the wall over there,
you put the stub in there,
that'll be great, so you can get
the ends of the door brimed.
Another thing is...
This is about a week and
a half ago, there was
a wedding ring, a male,
a men's wedding ring found
in the parking lot of
the Fond du Pec
council parking
lot there.
If anybody's missing a men wedding
ring please
let me know.
Just the public announcement.
Thanks.
It may be drinkable.
I don't know.
I'd like to introduce to everybody
in the e-court the
final act of the county labor
council,
my vice president, Mr.
Paul Barres.
As we gather tonight to celebrate
labor and honor
some of our own,
we're going to start with a little
prayer, so let
us pray.
We pray that all workers be
compensated justly so
that families and communities can
flourish.
We pray political leaders will
find the courage and wisdom to
stop attacks on workers' rights and
protections.
We pray for everyone involved in the
union movement and thank them for
their sacrifice.
We pray for oppressed people
everywhere, that freedom and dignity
will be swift in coming.
We pray with the safety of our
service men and women.
We give thanks for this meal
and for the bounty we are about
to enjoy.
Amen.
And on Monday, even though
I'm working on it right now...
All right.
All right, we're going to get
started a little bit here.
I mean, I'm coming.
I'm gonna get back in.
Look, tonight,
tonight's got celebration of labor.
Now I want to welcome...
Celebration!
Thank you, Bonnie.
Everybody else is still eating the
brown bread.
I want to welcome to this dinner our
local lodges and
our groups that are here
tonight to see the
communication workers.
Are you here?
The IBEW, are you here?
Woo!
Laborers 330 are you here?
There we are.
The N-A-L-C.
Branch 125.
There they are. There they are.
The Fox Valley Labor Council
here tonight.
Woo!
I-P-E-I-U
We tease at the lodge,
they're listed as the
last on the list, but the IAM
local
1947.
Woo!
Thank you.
Who normally dominates the
conversation. Thank you, sir.
Northeast Wisconsin building and
construction. Are you here?
I know we have some local
politicians here tonight
I'm looking at you, Rather.
Thank you very much.
I'm also looking
at some people that
are
here running,
especially in the sixth district.
Thank you!
We have some poor labor candidates
here.
I'm really glad to have them here.
Woo!
Well, Joey, you're here.
Woo!
Woo! Woo!
Michael, you're here.
John?
John's here.
Whoo!
Am I missing anybody?
No, I'm proud of you.
I'm mad at you, man. It's horrible.
All right.
I think we're good.
Tonight.
Tonight this is a
celebration of labor, but we've
had a rough year,
we've had a really rough year.
Last year was kind of a downer
year and I was
ready to prepare a
speech of a
lot of gloom and
doom.
Some of the things that I said last
year have absolutely been true.
We have a completely neutered
Department of Labor.
But I've got to tell you that
alleged sexual
problems and
funds missing
or another alleged
was not on my bingo card.
It's not on my bingo card.
We can do better.
And we,
and we, I was,
we were out warding a lot of gloom
and doom things about what was going
on today, and
yesterday,
and then the sink broke
at the lodge.
Had a cold while we're in.
I'm sure Steve ain't going to be
happy.
And I ended up tearing up a lot of
my stuff.
And then today,
Reverend Jesse Jackson was
laid to rest and
Obama gave a speech.
It was a speech about having hope.
Something I know I've
been lacking in
the last year
It's going to be bold, brother.
We can have hope, because...
We have really
great candidates, we do,
and we have a lot of them.
We have a lot of them.
People that are stepping up to
change the
world we live in.
You can be part of that change,
but you have to be involved.
And we have to get our young people
involved.
It's no longer a question of
going, well, you know, they
don't wanna, it's
not a thing anymore.
They have to be involved.
They don't have a choice.
If they're going to keep the country
going for working
folks.
To that end,
you know, I've been thinking about
candidates that we're looking at
and we're
in the state of Wisconsin where
we're holding the line.
We're just barely holding the
line.
But we're going to need people that
can work the levers of government.
One of those people I believe is
Sarah Rodriguez.
Sarah Rodriguez is a nurse,
public health expert,
a problem solver who has spent her
life helping people and
getting results.
As Wisconsin's 46th
lieutenant governor, she brings
more than two decades of experience
in health care, public service,
and executive leadership to the
fight for working families across
the Badger State.
We've got a lot of people in
our unions now that
have family members that have lost
a lot of their coverage
for insurance.
It's painful.
And it's devastating to those
families and our youth.
Sarah is the daughter of a union
mom and a Vietnam
veteran Sarah
was born in Milwaukee
and raised in Brookfield
Right next to my
hometown.
I Love Fond du Lac
I've lived here for almost
30 plus years
33 years.
I spent my life here in Palo Alto.
I grew up in West Dallas
where every
four corners had either a union
hall or a bar.
We're voting.
Sounds bomb right.
Sounds
about right.
Sarah's family story
was shaped by hard work and
public service.
Her grandparents ran a dairy farm in
Ridgefield County,
and her parents lived in the trailer
before starting their family.
Those early values, dignity and
work, pride in
community, and the belief that
everyone deserves a fair shot
continue to guide Sarah's
leadership today.
Sarah built her career from the
ground up.
She earned a duals master degree
in nursing and public health
from Johns Hopkins University.
Served as an
epidemic intelligence service
officer in the CDC.
I don't know if a lot of you people
know, but we're suffering from a
great pandemic right
now in many states.
We
could use...
We could use an epidemic
intelligence service right
now
and led the national and
international disease outbreak
responses.
She's held leadership roles in both
the public and the private
sectors including as vice president
of population health
at one of the largest health care
systems in the Midwest and
as the VP at a Fortune 500
company.
She also founded her own small
business.
In 2020, Sarah flipped a suburban
Milwaukee, see to
win election in the Wisconsin State
Assembly where she championed
health care access, which
is very important
right now.
Reproductive rights,
and policy to make life more
affordable for Wisconsin families.
Two years later she was elected
lieutenant governor alongside
Governor Tony Evers,
becoming one of the few public
health professionals in the nation
to hold statewide office.
I can't tell you how important
this is right now,
that we have people,
working families, children,
dying in this country.
From diseases that are
preventable.
Now as the first Democrat to
launch a campaign for governor
following Governor Hoover's
retirement, Sarah is
stepping up once again.
It's time to lead Wisconsin forward.
Her campaign is focused on expanding
access to affordable
health care, something we
all we need.
Fixing the health care workforce
crisis, protecting
reproductive freedom.
Investing in public education and
building an economy that works
for everyone that includes
us in this room
Thank you. Thank you very much.
From rural farmers,
to union workers, to small business
owners, Sarah lives in Waukesha
County with her husband and their
two children.
She is also a proud Girl Scout
troop leader.
Thank you.
Return.
In turn Peace Corps volunteer
and the kind of leader who's not
afraid to lace up her sneakers,
hit the road, and listen to
the people she serves.
We need pro-union
candidates.
Sarah is one of those
candidates
In a state right now that
is suffering from a lot of
a lot a lot candidates I
Would ask you and I would call upon
all of you to get out there and
look
and participate.
And find out
what is going on in
these elections.
But at this time, I want to
introduce to you
Lieutenant Governor of
the state of Wisconsin,
my friend, Sara
Rodriguez.
I'm going to use a really good
introduction.
Thank you.
So thank you to everyone who is
here tonight, labor leaders,
organizers, union members,
all of you.
It is so important that you
recognize the hard work that you do
every day.
And I want to start by recognizing
Stephanie Kilman-Dale again.
Yes, please come to AFL-2AO
for your leadership.
Thank you.
And I want to recognize all the
union members in this room.
The IBEW,
the laborers,
the farmers and steam fitters,
Smart, I didn't push you last,
IAM, the
steel workers,
IATSC, letter carriers,
OPEIU,
UFCW, IAFF.
CWA and our building craze.
You are the workers
who build Wisconsin,
power Wisconsin, and keep Wisconsin
running every single
day.
For me, it's a special honor
to be in this room because
I didn't come to this movement,
to this fight from the outside.
I grew up in it.
My mom was a teaching assistant and
a proud WEAC member.
My thank you.
My dad.
My dad served in the Navy during
Vietnam and came home to fix
telephones at Wisconsin Bell.
There you go.
We grew up in a working class
union household.
We didn't have a lot, but
I never once doubted
that my parents had dignity in
their work and I knew exactly why,
because they had a union.
They taught me that you
work hard, you look out
for your neighbors and you never
back down from a fight.
Those values affect every
decision that I make.
And they remind me every day
that when we talk about Wisconsin's
economy, we are really talking about
you.
The electricians wiring our
homes, the laborers building
our roads and bridges, the
firefighters keeping our communities
safe, the steel workers
powering our industries,
the nurses, and health care
workers caring for our families.
Wisconsin works because union
workers show up every
day and get the job done.
Thank you.
And I want to be clear tonight,
as Lieutenant Governor and as
someone who is running to be the
Governor of Wisconsin, I will
always stand with labor.
Not just in speeches, not just
during campaign season,
but when decisions are made that
determine whether working families
get ahead or fall behind,
I will stand with you.
I come to this perspective shaped
by my own career.
Before I was Lieutenant Governor, I
worked night shifts as an ER nurse.
And if you want to understand the
dignity of work, spend a night
in the emergency department.
You see construction workers coming
in after long days on
the job.
Factory workers who have spent
decades doing physically demanding
work. Parents who
are working two jobs just
to try to keep their families
afloat.
I still think about one patient,
a single dad who came in with
cardiac issues, he needed
a full workup, he needed
to be admitted, but he checked
himself out against medical
advice.
Not because he didn't care about his
health, because he couldn't
afford to miss work and
he didn't have anyone to
watch his kids.
That moment stayed with me.
Because you learn very quickly
that work is about more than
a paycheck.
It's about stability,
dignity, it's about knowing
that if you work hard in Wisconsin,
you should be able to build a good
life here.
That's what the labor movement has
fought for generation after
generation.
The eight-hour workday,
workplace safety, health
care, retirement security.
These rights weren't handed
down by politicians.
They were won because workers
stood together and demanded
them.
Woo!
Because of that fight, Wisconsin
built one of the strongest middle
classes in America, but we all
know the truth about the last
decade.
Working people in Wisconsin were
forced to fight battles you
shouldn't have to fight.
We saw attacks on collective
bargaining.
We saw politicians trying to
divide working families.
And we saw policies designed to
weaken unions and tilt the
playing field towards corporate
power.
But here's what those politicians
never understood about Wisconsin
workers, you don't
back.
You organize, you stand together,
and you keep building,
and right now across this country
something important is happening
again.
Workers are standing up.
Union drives are growing.
Apprenticeships are expanding.
Young workers are rediscovering
something the labor movement has
always known.
When workers stand together
workers win.
And there's real good news
for labor right here in Wisconsin.
We are investing in infrastructure
at levels we have not seen in
generations.
Roads, bridges, water
systems, broadband.
These projects are creating
thousands of jobs across
our state, but here's what matters.
Those jobs should go to Wisconsin
workers.
They should support registered
apprenticeships, and they should
build union careers,
not temporary jobs.
Under a Rodriguez administration,
that is exactly what we will fight
for. Because when taxpayer
dollars are invested in our
economy, they should create
family-supporting
union jobs.
Woo!
For decades, unions have understood
something policymakers sometimes
forget.
The best workforce development plan
already exists.
It's called a union apprenticeship.
You train the workers the
right way.
You pass down skills from one
generation to the next.
And you build the workforce that
powers our economy.
That model works.
And in Wisconsin, we should be
expanding it, not undermining it.
Another reason I'm optimistic right
now is what we are seeing from
younger workers.
Across the country, they are
discovering the power of
collective action.
They're organizing, they're
demanding fair pay, they're
insisting on dignity at
work, and they're learning the
lesson that labor movement has
always known.
Solidary isn't just a word,
it's how working people change
the future.
This brings me to the states in
2026.
This election will decide
where we are going as
Wisconsin for the next decade.
Will we continue to build an economy
where workers have a seat at the
table? Or will we go backwards to
policies that weaken unions and
silence workers' voices?
We already know
where Tom Tiffany stands.
Ooooooooooooooo
He supports so-called right-to-work
laws that weaken unions.
He opposes prevailing wage
protections.
He votes against the public schools
and training programs working
families count on.
He talks about working families
when he's running for office,
but governs for corporate interests
once he's in there.
That's not the Wisconsin that I
believe in.
And it's not the Wisconsin that
working people deserve.
I believe in a Wisconsin
where if you work full time, you can
support your family.
Where the skilled trades are
respected.
Where workers are given the freedom
to organize.
Where infrastructure projects
support union labor and
apprenticeships.
And where the next generation sees a
future in building things,
fixing things, and caring
for people.
That's the Wisconsin we're
fighting for.
And I want to say something directly
to the members in this room.
Your voice matters more
than ever.
Union members are organizers.
You talk to coworkers.
You talk your neighbors.
You talk with your families.
And when labor organizes,
labor wins.
Thank you.
And when labor votes,
all of Wisconsin wins.
This has been true for generations.
It will be true again in 2026.
I still think about that dad who
walked out of my ER.
I don't know what happened to him,
but I know this.
He deserved better.
He deserved a Wisconsin where
a full day's work meant real
wages, real benefits,
and real care for his family.
And that kind of Wisconsin doesn't
build itself.
It gets built by working people,
by union workers, by the
men and women who stand together
and demand that work in
America comes with dignity.
That's what the labor movement has
always been about.
It's about solidarity,
it's about community,
it is about when we stand together
we can something better.
The belief that we
built the American middle
class. And together we are going to
build the next chapter in Wisconsin.
One where working people are not
left behind.
Where good union jobs exist
in every corner of this
state and where workers are treated
with the dignity and respect
that they deserve.
Thank you for doing the work
that you do. Thank you organizing.
Thank you for carrying forward
the proud tradition of
the labor movement.
Together We're going to
continue to build a Wisconsin that
works for working people and
together We're, going to win
the future Wisconsin
workers deserve thank you for
having me
Thank you. Woo!
Thank you Sarah, thank you very
much.