At times forcefully calling out former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., the half-dozen labor leaders who spoke vowed to deliver votes for O'Malley this fall. Some unions endorsed O'Malley months ago, so the event served mostly as a rally.
Joslyn "Josh" Williams, president of the Metropolitan Washington Council of AFL-CIO, called Ehrlich an "interloper who had no right to be there" in the State House.
"Are we going to let our piece of property be taken over?" he asked. "No!" enthusiastic O'Malley supporters replied.
Michael Smith of the National Association of Letter Carriers reminded the crowd that letter carriers grace every doorstep in Maryland and would "deliver for Governor O'Malley."
Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown said that under Ehrlich, "working families did not have a seat at the table. They didn't even know the table existed." O'Malley touted his jobs creation, saying the state had outpaced the national rate in each of the past three months.
The labor delivery theme was reinforced by the music played before and after the event. Song choice: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours." (Michael McDonald version.)