From the Inquirer:

Hundreds of hotel housekeepers, bellhops, and waiters gathered in Philadelphia yesterday for their first convention as a new union.

"This is the most excited I've been in 42 years in the labor movement," said Edgar Romney, the president of the new organization, Workers United, adding that the new union would be better positioned to help workers achieve a better life.

The event even featured a guest appearance by one of the most charismatic and colorful leaders of the labor movement - Andy Stern, the president of the nation's fastest-growing union, Service Employees International Union.