Unions are ?more united than at any time in the past? to mobilize members to defeat Republican President George W. Bush and elect Democratic nominee John Kerry, the president of the national AFL-CIO told delegates to the state labor federation convention Monday.
In remarks before the Minnesota AFL-CIO convention and in an interview afterwards, John Sweeney said ?there?s tremendous solidarity within the labor movement in this election.? Some 60 international unions representing more than 13 million workers are knocking on thousands of doors and making tens of thousands of phone calls to turn out the union vote for Kerry and other labor-endorsed candidates, he said.
Unions are so united because Bush has ?turned his back on working families,? Sweeney said. ?Brothers and sisters, we have to replace George Bush this year or we have no hope of stopping the pounding being taken by working families.?
Sweeney ticked off a list of ways that the Bush administration has failed workers: ?On their watch, 4 million more Americans lost their health insurance, our $5.83 trillion surplus was translated into a $5 trillion long-term debt. . . . 3 million more people have been plunged into poverty. Nearly 3 million manufacturing workers have lost their jobs.?
On Aug. 23, about 6 million American workers will lose their eligibility for overtime pay because of new regulations instituted by the Bush Department of Labor, he added.
 |
| AFL-CIO President John Sweeney visits with United Auto Workers member Finn Mulloy; his wife, Tara; and daughters Bridget, Siobhan and Fiona at the Minnesota AFL-CIO convention Monday in Rochester. |
If Kerry is elected, he will address the nation?s economic problems and will sign the ?Employee Free Choice Act,? legislation that will make it easier for the 45 million U.S. workers who want a union to get one, Sweeney said.
Already, thousands of Minnesotans have been contacted by unions during the ?Labor 2004? campaign. On Tuesday, delegates to the convention at the Mayo Civic Center will adjourn early so they can knock on 5,000 doors of union households in the Rochester area.
The labor movement plans scores of similar events, including a nationwide precinct walk on Sept. 2 while Bush addresses the national Republican convention, Sweeney said.
His remarks were echoed in a convention speech by International Brotherhood of Teamsters Secretary-Treasurer Thomas Keegel.
As delegates cheered, Keegel said, ?I?m challenging each and every one of you to go out and work like you?ve never worked before. . . This is the election that?s going to say where we?re going to go in the 21st century.?
Related article
Elections are major focus of state AFL-CIO convention
Share
Unions are ?more united than at any time in the past? to mobilize members to defeat Republican President George W. Bush and elect Democratic nominee John Kerry, the president of the national AFL-CIO told delegates to the state labor federation convention Monday.
In remarks before the Minnesota AFL-CIO convention and in an interview afterwards, John Sweeney said ?there?s tremendous solidarity within the labor movement in this election.? Some 60 international unions representing more than 13 million workers are knocking on thousands of doors and making tens of thousands of phone calls to turn out the union vote for Kerry and other labor-endorsed candidates, he said.
Unions are so united because Bush has ?turned his back on working families,? Sweeney said. ?Brothers and sisters, we have to replace George Bush this year or we have no hope of stopping the pounding being taken by working families.?
Sweeney ticked off a list of ways that the Bush administration has failed workers: ?On their watch, 4 million more Americans lost their health insurance, our $5.83 trillion surplus was translated into a $5 trillion long-term debt. . . . 3 million more people have been plunged into poverty. Nearly 3 million manufacturing workers have lost their jobs.?
On Aug. 23, about 6 million American workers will lose their eligibility for overtime pay because of new regulations instituted by the Bush Department of Labor, he added.
|
| AFL-CIO President John Sweeney visits with United Auto Workers member Finn Mulloy; his wife, Tara; and daughters Bridget, Siobhan and Fiona at the Minnesota AFL-CIO convention Monday in Rochester. |
If Kerry is elected, he will address the nation?s economic problems and will sign the ?Employee Free Choice Act,? legislation that will make it easier for the 45 million U.S. workers who want a union to get one, Sweeney said.
Already, thousands of Minnesotans have been contacted by unions during the ?Labor 2004? campaign. On Tuesday, delegates to the convention at the Mayo Civic Center will adjourn early so they can knock on 5,000 doors of union households in the Rochester area.
The labor movement plans scores of similar events, including a nationwide precinct walk on Sept. 2 while Bush addresses the national Republican convention, Sweeney said.
His remarks were echoed in a convention speech by International Brotherhood of Teamsters Secretary-Treasurer Thomas Keegel.
As delegates cheered, Keegel said, ?I?m challenging each and every one of you to go out and work like you?ve never worked before. . . This is the election that?s going to say where we?re going to go in the 21st century.?
Related article
Elections are major focus of state AFL-CIO convention