From YKos: Andy Stern and Harold Meyerson Keynote

Live blogging from Yearly Kos: Harold Meyerson interviewed Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) about the impact of globalization on America's workforce.

Andy Stern gave an inspiring speech focusing on the domestic policies that will help organize workers, and support workers like health care and pensions but only briefly addressed the root of the problem - NAFTA-style trade agreements (this avoidance of the underlying issue unforrtunately seems to be a recurrent theme here at Yearly Kos).

Stern did say that countries not companies are making the rules of the global economy and that of the list of the 100 largest economies, fifty are corporations and fifty are countries. He also gave a brief nod to a new direction on American trade policy when talking about the difficulties of organizing. He explained that current trade rules hold unions and governments hostage. Corporations threaten to leave with their jobs rather than have a unionized workplace and corporations threaten to leave if the public interest laws conflict with their bottom-line.

He continued, "We need to find a way for global progressives to fight global corporations."

Click here to join the global fight.

More to come from Yearly Kos in Chicago...