Elvis, Pre-Dawn Political Action and Kentucky Elections

Bad weather doesn’t stop Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan and UAW Local 2370 President Tim Smith from reaching out to union members for Kentucky’s critical election.

Rachele Huennekens, AFL-CIO Media Outreach fellow, is blogging and leafleting her way through the second day of a 10-day bus tour through Kentucky, where Steve Beshear is challenging Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R), who has canceled bargaining rights for state employees, privatized Kentucky’s Medicaid program and taken other anti-worker stands. Dozens of local labor leaders and union volunteers are taking part in the Bluegrass Express tour. 

Kentucky rain keeps pourin’ down, and up ahead’s another town, that I’ll go walkin’ thru, with the rain in my shoes…searchin’ for you, in the cold Kentucky rain.

So sang Elvis Presley about the harsh weather that, unfortunately for the first few stops of the Bluegrass Express union-member mobilization tour, Kentucky occasionally experiences.

Last night’s worksite leaflet stop at the Commonwealth Aluminum plant in Hawesville and this morning’s stop at the massive Century Aluminum plant in Lewisport would have been rained out if it weren’t for the absolute dedication of the volunteers who spent hours handing out leaflets to steelworkers leaving and arriving at the plants.

Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan, Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council President Jeff Wiggins, UAW Local 2370 President Tim Smith, AFL-CIO field representative Don Slaiman, United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9443 President Richard Hass and yours truly stood outside the plant gates in the dark, amidst the wind and rain, rain and even more rain, to distribute information on incumbent Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s disastrous history of hurting working families.

All told, the leaflets were a success. We distributed hundreds of fliers, and almost all the workers we spoke to were receptive and friendly. But, ironically, many of them remarked on our dedication to stand out in the rain. The subtext to their comments seemed to be an unanswered question: “Why go through so much bother?”

An answer came easily to Smith. A big grin on his face, he said:

I love doing this! The reason we’re out here is to reach out to our members.  Reach out to our members and let them know how important it is to get out and vote November the 6. 

To Tim Smith, it’s just that simple. Communication among members is the only way unions can effect positive change in the political arena.  If we want the government’s policies to address our concerns—health care, good jobs, retirement security and the dozens of others—then we have to make sure that union members are informed and elect good candidates to positions of power. And if it takes a sopping-wet leaflet or two, or 200,000, that’s no trouble at all.

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Paid for by AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Treasury Fund.

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