john sweeney, you'll recognize him, president emeritus of the afl-cio, guest but the speaker. thank you for being here. jennifer depaul, reporter for the fiscal times. beth ward, a reporter with platts. and craig gilbert, milwaukee journal sentinel washington bureau chief. let's give them a round of applause. [applause] as you probably know by now, organized labor in america has been under renewed attack this year. while it has not been as physically violent as seen in our nation's history, it has often been bitter at times. the benefits of collective bargaining rights of unions representing teachers, firefighters, police commanders civil servants have become a special target. in more than a dozen states, politicians with unions to help reduce budget sharp falls by paying more for their benefits and giving up their abilities to negotiate working conditions. much of the evidence behind an anti-union legislation might be linked back to the 2010 election, which flipped control of many governor seats in the legislatures from democrat to republican. in april, ohio's governor signed