Progress Illinois

On Monday, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) sponsored a large rally and concert in St. Paul, MN, across the river from the Xcel Center, where the Republican National Convention is being held this week.  Titled "Take Back Labor Day," the event featured performances from a diverse array of musicians, including Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Tom Morello, Atmosphere, Mos Def, and the Pharcyde.  In between the acts, SEIU members and leaders took the stage to talk briefly about the achievements of the labor movement.

Just as the concert was kicking off, I had a chance to speak briefly with SEIU president Andy Stern about the event and what it means to "take back" Labor Day.  Watch it (apologies for the poor audio quality):

More from Nation D.C. editor Chris Hayes, who was with me at the event:

In between Tom Morello and the local rap act Atmosphere, Andy Stern did his best to fire up the crowd. "Is labor in the house !?!" he rasped. "Is healthcare in the house !?!" I chatted with him when he got off the stage and told him I'd been at the pro-labor Republican lunch. "Which Republicans were there?" he asked. "Not really any." I said. He shook his head. He'd been traveling with SEIU's Republican outreach committee.

At the local level, particularly in liberal states like California and New York, pro-labor Republicans can, actually, be found. We talked about the election, and the post-November strategy should Obama be elected. I asked whether he wanted to see healthcare as the first legislative priority or EFCA. "It has to be healthcare first. The Employee Free Choice Act is about power. Healthcare is for everybody." And he had no illusions about the sheer magnitude of opposition there would be to EFCA, which would amount to the biggest change to the NLRB [National Labor Relations Board] since Taft-Hartley crippled the labor movement by banning a vast array of union activity. "It's going to be World War III."

Full disclosure: Progress Illinois is sponsored by the SEIU Illinois State Council.