I am a CTA bus driver. I am a proud member of my union. I am proud to do useful and important work.

I am proud to work alongside some of the most amazing and responsible people in the country: the public transit workers of Chicago. Each one of us men and women are leaders of our families and our communities. 10,000 union transit workers work 365 days a year, 24 hours a day we work very hard and we do our jobs very well. If we do not, the city stops. Chicago transit workers have been under steady and increasing attack by our employer. We are here with our loved ones and our allies to make clear that further attacks against us will be met by our organized resistance. But we are not alone. Workers in the Chicago region - and other workers around the world - have been blamed for this crisis and are under attack as well. There will be many opportunities for us to begin to resist together, to unite. These attempted encampments around the country may be dislodged this winterour students may go home from school for the summerbut working people, we are here to stay. If we are to move forward, social movements like this one must look towards the social power of the working class. It must enlist the discipline, the leadership, the legitimate authority of workers. We are gaining confidence in ourselves. We are remembering our power and beginning to use it for the benefit of our communities. Workers, we must be confident in ourselves! We must be unafraid to lead our communities into mass actions like this one. I believe that through struggle - we will become confident enough in ourselves that we will lead the 99% to run things ourselves.