AFL-CIO Organizing Vets Against McCain In Battleground States
WASHINGTON — The AFL-CIO is mobilizing union members who are military veterans to work against Republican presidential candidate John McCain and other office seekers it opposes, officials said Thursday.
John Sweeney, the president of the labor federation, announced the creation of a Union Veterans Council in a teleconference Thursday. The union, which endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president last month, plans to form state councils of union veterans in key election battlegrounds, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Ohio and West Virginia. Later, it plans to organize in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Virginia.
The new council will include close to a dozen state affiliates and will also coordinate other veterans groups "to raise the profile of veterans issues and lead the way in securing an economy that works for all," he said.
"With the formation of the Union Veterans Council, veterans will be front and center in the effort to put our country back on track," Sweeney said.
Key issues will include money for the Veterans Affairs Department, health and education benefits for veterans, and job growth, he said.
The union also launched an ad that will air Thursday that features a Vietnam combat veteran criticizing McCain's stance on the war in Iraq and on veterans issues. The ad will air for three weeks on national cable and in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, union officials said.
The outreach effort will include door-to-door canvassing and visits to worksites by veterans to talk to union members about issues in the election. The union also plans to identify and track union veterans.
The AFL-CIO estimates it has 2.1 million members who are either veterans or are serving in active duty in the military.
The Union Veterans Council will be active beyond the 2008 elections. "We're starting our work with a push to elect leaders who will put working people's concerns first," Sweeney said.
Mark Ayers, president of the Building & Construction Trades Council, will chair the council.
"As veterans we respect Sen. McCain's military service to our country, but we don't respect his record in the United States Senate," Ayers told reporters on the call.
"Not only has he voted the wrong way on veterans issues _ such as opposing increased funding for veterans' health care the last four years in a row _ but he also doesn't support middle-class workers' issues," Ayers said. "He wants to tax workers' health care benefits and supports unfair trade deals, including NAFTA, CAFTA and others."
In response, the Republican National Committee said, "It's no surprise the AFL-CIO is now coming to Obama's assistance and attacking McCain."
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JIM KUHNHENN | July 10, 2008 11:56 AM EST |
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