Greetings,

I am pleased and honored to issue the OFFICIAL CONVENTION CALL for the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists 32nd International Convention. The dates are May 21-26, 2003, and the setting we have chosen is the beautiful city of San Francisco, California. The headquarters hotel is the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, with the Holiday Inn-Financial District serving as the overflow property.

The theme for this convention is “ADVANCING THE WORKING FAMILIES AGENDA.” The format will include resolutions and policy papers designed to put forth our position on a wide range of domestic and global issues that will speak to the needs of working families. We will address labor rights and human rights, both at home and abroad.

The settings for these discussions will be general sessions, workshops, national women’s conference, retirees’ conference, youth conference and community toxics seminar. We will also be convening a special task force on organizing, as well as a roundtable forum on leveraging the power of workers’ pension funds. We will also host a town hall meeting exploring the urban policy crisis in America.

We are pleased to have confirmed a number of dynamic speakers, including Ron Gettelfinger, international president, UAW, and Terence M. O’Sullivan, international president, LIUNA.

In addition, we expect other luminaries to join us, including:
John Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO
Hon. Cruz Bustamante, Lt. Gov., State of California
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, Oakland
Hon. Willie Brown, Mayor, City of San Francisco
Barbara J. Wood, Western Regional Director, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

The convention would not be complete without such attractions as our gospel concert, Sunday worship service, and awards dinner. The CBTU convention is serious business and I urge you, as in the past, to come with your sleeves rolled up “ready to work.” The mission on our watch is to tackle the tough issues and suggest solutions which will provide security, a decent standard of living, a voice in the political process, and generally make the quality of life a little better for all of us, particularly the least among us in our society.

We believe these objectives to be consistent with labor’s purpose and I call on all unions to maximize membership and delegate participation from their national, regional, and local levels at this convention to help make it a huge success and let our collective voices ring out in a resounding coalition of unity.