Most of the attention on the Convention has been on the big-name politicians who have spoken. But yesterday, some of the most moving speeches came not from professional politicians, but from three working women who shared their hopes and struggles — and their desire to restore the American Dream for everybody — with the assembled crowd.

Pauline Beck

Pauline Beck is a home care worker and SEIU member from Oakland, California who, one year ago, spent a day working side by side with Barack Obama as part of SEIU’s “Walk a Day In My Shoes” program, which challenged all the Presidential candidates to spend a day doing the same work an average American worker does. Pauline told the convention about the experience of working alongside the next President of the United States:

And here’s the video of Pauline and Senator Obama working together:

Gloria Craven

Gloria Craven, a UNITE HERE member from Eden, North Carolina had worked for the same company, Pillowtex, for 30 years — until the company abruptly shut down, throwing more than 8,000 people, including Gloria and her husband, out of work. They didn’t even get their back vacation pay; the company’s CEO got a $300,000 bonus. Gloria told the convention about the plight of her community, and called for real economic change:

My story is not much different than a lot of other people in this country. I lived in a town built on textiles. Growing up, most of us didn’t have much use for schools, because we didn’t think a diploma meant that much. The important thing was taking care of your family. A lot of people in our area chose work over school.

I worked at the same place—for a company called Pillowtex—for 30 years. In 2003, the plant shut down for a week. The next week, when we were supposed to report back to work, we were told not to come in. A few weeks later, we were told the plant had closed. More than 8,000 people lost their jobs in one day. And that was it, after 30 years: no notice, no “thank you.” For the job he did, our CEO got a bonus of $300,000. Our union, UNITE HERE, fought for several years to get back our vacation pay.

Overnight, my family and community totally changed. George Bush told us that we should all just go to college. But 65 percent of the people in the mill could barely read or write. We weren’t in a position to go to college, and we couldn’t afford it anyway…

There used to be a time in America when you felt like there were people in government who were looking out for people like me. But not the last eight years. I know I can’t stand another four years of George W. Bush.

But John McCain will be no different. When he said a few months ago that we’ve made great progress economically, it made me wonder: who does he mean by “we?” And then, I read he owns seven houses, and it was clear that “we” didn’t include “me.”

(I can’t find a video of her speech that I can embed here, but you can watch it on the Convention’s Web site in glorious HD.)

Lilly Ledbetter

Lilly Ledbetter had worked for nearly two decades at a Goodyear Tire plant in Gadsden, Alabama when she discovered that for years male co-workers doing the same job as her had been paid more. She filed suit and won, but Goodyear appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled — by one vote — to dismiss her suit on the grounds that the pay discrimination had happened more than 180 days before the suit was filed.

Lilly’s struggle to win equal pay for equal work led progressives in Congress to introduce the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would have removed the 180-days rule, but while it passed in the House conservatives in the Senate have so far successfully prevented it from passing that chamber.

Lilly told the Convention about her fight, and about how we need new leadership that will defend the principle of equal pay for equal work:

We can’t afford more of the same votes that deny women their equal rights. Barack Obama is on our side. He is fighting to fix this terrible ruling, and as president, he has promised to appoint justices who will enforce laws that protect everyday people like me. But this isn’t a Democratic or a Republican issue. It’s a fairness issue. And fortunately, there are some Republicans—and a lot of Democrats—who are on our side.

My case is over. I will never receive the pay I deserve. But there will be a far richer reward if we secure fair pay. For our children and grandchildren, so that no one will ever again experience the discrimination that I did. Equal pay for equal work is a fundamental American principle. We need leaders in this country who will fight for it. With all of us working together, we can have the change we need and the opportunity we all deserve.

(You can watch Lilly’s speech in HD on the Convention site as well.)