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AFL-CIO Endorses Obama, Launches ‘Meet Barack Obama’ |
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The AFL-CIO today endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president.
The AFL-CIO General Board, which voted to endorse Obama, includes presidents of all 56 unions in the AFL-CIO, as well as Executive Council members and representatives of state and local federations, trade departments and constituency groups. The General Board votes by per capita membership. In conjunction with the endorsement, the AFL-CIO launched a new website: Meet Barack Obama.
In its endorsement statement, the General Board noted that Sen. Barack Obama “has secured the nomination of his party in a campaign that has energized millions of Americans and spoken to the hopes and dreams of people from every corner of our nation.”
His leadership can re-engage disenfranchised Americans and bring our country together. Sen. Obama has advocated a change of direction for our nation that mirrors the priorities of the labor movement.
In announcing the endorsement today, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said, “Barack Obama has proven from his days as an organizer, to his time in the Senate and his historic run for the presidency, that he’s leading the fight to turn around America.” Saying, as a champion for working families, Obama
knows what it’s going to take to create an economy that works for everyone, not just Big Oil, Big Pharma, the insurance companies, the giant mortgage lenders, speculators and the very wealthy. We’re proud to stand with Sen. Obama to help our nation chart a course that will improve life for generations of working people and our children.
Obama has vowed to fight for working families and for an economy that works for all—and he has the record to prove it. As a church-based community organizer, Obama assisted those affected by closing steel mills. As a state senator in Illinois, he sponsored legislation to expand health care and protect overtime pay. As a U.S. senator, Obama has earned a 98 percent lifetime rating from the AFL-CIO. And all along, he’s marched on picket lines and rallied with striking workers.
AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, chairman of the AFL-CIO Political Committee, pledged to “work our hearts out for Barack Obama.
Our program is going to be worker to worker and neighbor to neighbor. We’re ready to mobilize. We’re ready to rock and roll. This country and our people are ready for change.
Says Electrical Workers (IBEW) President Edwin Hill:
We want to engage our members and all working people on the need for action on the issues that make a difference in our daily lives. It is time to move beyond name calling and division so that our country can take positive action on the challenges we face.
United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo W. Gerard said:
Sen. Obama’s plan to revitalize American manufacturing and his commitment to make workers the top priority in any trade agreement give our members hope that his election will lead the country in a new direction that’s long overdue, and inspire us to work as never before to secure his victory.
To help educate union members about Sen. Obama’s background and his record of fighting for working families, the AFL-CIO has launched a new website, Meet Barack Obama. It features videos, downloadable fliers and a briefing book laying out his positions on issues key to working families.
At the Meet Barack Obama site, you’ll learn:
- Obama opposes the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. He supports fair trade that protects jobs and workers.
- Obama has supported workers’ rights and pledges to sign the Employee Free Choice Act.
- Obama wants to provide health care for all that cuts costs and improves quality.
- Obama has voted to protect fair pay, overtime protections, prevailing wages and family and medical leave.
- Obama opposes privatizing Social Security.
Margaret Blackshere, a teacher and former president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, says Obama listens to workers and will be a president who fights for their interests. He understands the importance of unions and the need for public policy that protects working families.
He stood by workers again and again. He told me one of the things he learned as a community organizer in Chicago is the difference between being union and nonunion. He saw steel mills closing—and as painful as that was, he saw that if you were in a union, you had somebody to stand up for you.
This year, the AFL-CIO is carrying out its largest grassroots political mobilization in history. Thousands of volunteers are helping educate millions of workers and mobilizing them to get to the polls to elect Barack Obama and a working family-friendly Congress. The AFL-CIO union movement is focusing on mobilizing more than 13 million union voters―including union members, families of members, retirees and members of the AFL-CIO community affiliate Working America―in 24 priority states, working to elect U.S. senators and representatives, as well as state and local candidates.
Meet Barack Obama is an essential part of this unprecedented program. Since our political mobilization efforts began, AFL-CIO volunteers have knocked on more than 60,000 doors and delivered 1.5 million worksite fliers on McCain’s economic record. Nearly a half-million mailers on McCain’s economic positions have been sent to union swing voters in key battlegrounds.
Check out Meet Barack Obama today and find out more.
_____________________________________
Paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Political Contributions Committee, www.aflcio.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
24 Comments
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He’s got my vote.
A lot of Americans have become so insulated from reality that they
imagine that America can suffer defeat without any inconvenience to
themselves.
Pause a moment, reflect back.
These events are actual events from history.
They really happened!!!
Do you remember?
1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by Muslim male extremist
between the ages of 17 and 40.
2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred
by Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran w as taken over by Muslim male
extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
4. During the 1980’s a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by
Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by Muslim male
extremists betwe e n the ages of 17 and 40.
6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old
American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair
by Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver
trying to rescue passengers was murdered by Muslim male extremists
between the ages of 17 and 40.
8. In 1988 , Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by Muslim male extremists
between the ages of 17 and 40.
9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by Muslim
male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
10 In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya an d Tanzania were bombed by
Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles
to take down the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one
crashed into the US Pentagon and the othe r was diverted and crashed by
the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by Muslim male
extremists between the of 17 and 40.
12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against Muslim
male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by– you
guessed it– Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
No, I really don’t see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you? So,
to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent
on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to
profile certain people…
Absolutely No Profiling!
They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids,
airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members
of the President’s security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal
hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe F os s,
but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone lest they be
guilty of profiling.
According to The Book of Revelations:
The Anti-Christ will be a man, in his 40s, of MUSLIM descent, who will
deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASS IVE
Christ-like appeal….the prophecy says that people will flock to him
and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power,
he will destroy everything.
And Now:
For the award winning
Act of Stupidity
Of all times the People of America want to elect, to the most Powerful
position on the face of the Planet —
The Presidency of the United states of A merica
A Muslim
Male
Extremist
Between
the ages
of 17 and 40.
Have the American People completely lost their Minds, or just their
Power of Reason ???
I’m sorry but I refuse to take a chance on the ‘unknown’ candidate
Obama…
Let’s send this to as many people as we can so that the Gloria Aldreds
and other stupid attorneys along with Federal Justices that want to
thwart common sense, feel ashamed of themselves — if they have any such
sense.
As the writer of the award winning story ‘Forre st Gump’ so aptly put it,
‘Stupid
Is
As
Stupid Does.
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I thought the slander machine on Obama was going to churn out that he was a radical Christian member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago formerly led by Rev. Wright. Now, you’re telling me THAT WAS ALL WRONG and that he is really a Muslim. I wish you guys would stop the double-talk (or speaking with a forked tongue, whaling, flip-flopping, gnashing your teeth; whatever you want to call it) and just stick with a singular lie. You lose credibility when you spread more than one, at the same time; because I want to believe you. Stop making it so difficult for me by being contridictory. Unless or course, you are trying to be divisive. Divisive…surely a good Christian like yourself wouldn’t dare. Yea; right!
Why don’t you go through a long list of activities investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and tell me if you can observe a trend of a particular age range and ethic group, of which I happen to partically belong, engaging in criminal wrongdoing? I suppose there is really no pattern to apply here, either…huh? Too bad all white male investors aged 25 to 55 aren’t required to undergo annual IRS audits!?! If they were, we might actually start catching some REALLY bad guys. A MAN WITH A BRIEFCASE CAN STEAL MORE MONEY THAN ANY MAN WITH A GUN. -Don Henley
Stop implying that Republicans are tough on crime and conversely Democrats aren’t; cause it just ain’t so.
he DOESN’T have MINE & others!
Voice of reason…humm? Very little voice and absolutely no reason. Don’t you have at least one valid major or minor premise to offer in support of your conclusion? Where’s the beef?
NO OBAMA
Obama 08′. This endorsement is great! The mobilization efforts the AFL-CIO does on behalf of its candidates is outstanding. McSame is in trouble…
I am glad to see AFL come on board this historic campaign. Barack Obama is changing politics and AFL CIO is going to be a big part of victory in this election. I hope everyone that reads this will work their heart out for this great and honorable candidate we have!
I’m glad to hear this! Senator Obama will do more for the labor unions, especially on collective bargaining rights, than Senator McCain will ever do. He is a friend to the unions.
Obama is not qualified to be president of the United States. The country is on life support. When I have open heart surgery, I will choose someone who has done more than just a couple of surgeries.
When I have open-heart surgery, I will choose someone who has a 98% survival rate for his patients, over the course of his career; rather than someone with a morbid 16% survival rate. That’s 149 losses out of 184 operations for McSame and one loss in 39 for Obama, as of the end of 2007. McSame has extensive experience at killing the working families of America. THE CONGRESSIONAL VOTING RECORD DOCUMENTS THIS REALITY!!! Obama has already voted in favor of working families 38 times. McSame has only managed 35 favorable votes, over a much longer period of time to have come to his senses. Sounds like you need to reconsider Obama’s Plan for accessible, quality, and affordable Healthcare, or you can face Dr. McVorkian on your own!
I’m not voting for Obama or McCain. We need more people voting for a third party candidate.
I would encourage all the old supporters of Bob Barr, especially in Georgia and perhaps Colorado, to listen to this advice. Go Bob Barr!!!
Go to khow.com and check out the Obama tapes after you see what the AFL-CIO site has to say
What goes on here? The endorsement was long time coming, should have been sooner. Now we get these people who will not vote for change? Hasn’t 8 years of our country going to hell because of the dictator and biggest terrorist, George W. Bush been enough?
Obama has his plate full, will probably take 4 yrs. fixing what Bush f—ed up!
Let’s stick together, get Obama elected, and help him make the change he promises.
Flforexperience, you should talk! Who do you have in mind? Jeb?
Your state robbed Al Gore in ‘00. Bush didn’t go to war, yet he started one or two and can’t figure how to end them, so he will leave the mess for Obama. McSame,well people call him a hero, but wait..he was a prisoner of war, he got caught! He didn’t do something right! He didn’t follow the SOP! What makes him qualified to run the country?
Already McCain is talking about more free trade with foreign nations. the average American is between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea regarding presidential candidates.
Dont assume that just because we are union and share in working families issues, that we all endorse OBAMA because it is NOT so. He is not qualified to be the president of the USA and its time some people put their hatefulness and vindictiveness against Bush aside in such an important decision. Change? yes, but change to what? Barack Obama, the radical black militant disguised as a moderate, is wrong on many fundamental issues important to patriotic, freedom loving, decent americans.
This fact leaks through his rhetoric each time he lets his true beliefs drive his words.
From what we know of Barack Obama - from what the entire world now knows of Barack Obama - is he the man America wants across the table from the likes of Ahmadinejad, Castro, and Putin?
I take great exception with your comment. Allow me to elaborate.
“…radical black militant…”
The antonym for “radical” is “minor.” Synonyms for “minor” include: negligible, inconsequential, trivial, insignificant, and unimportant. Since Obama is none of those things, “radical” is a complement. Any Union Steward worth his/her salt is proud to be labeled a “radical” on the shop floor.
While it’s HALF true that Obama is “black,” why would you imply that his skin color should be a reason for not supporting him? This seems a subtle way of promoting “hatefulness and vindictiveness.” (How ’bout removing your mote before touching my speck?)
Advocating another 100 years of war is militant. Declaring immediate withdrawal by “being as careful with getting out as we were careless with getting in” would hardly qualify Obama as “militant.”
“Barack Obama…is wrong on many fundamental issues important to patriotic, freedom loving, decent americans.
“…patriotic…” I have a bumper sticker that reads: Got Patriotism Buy American
That just about puts Labor’s position in a nutshell. McCain’s support of one free trade agreement after another does not bolster the cause of real Patriotism. Here’s another reason: http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/06/20/gi-bill-passes-house-despite-mccains-opposition/
In Virginia, a woman was fired for having a Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker on her car. Her boss said that he was not a democrat and that he was not going to be an enabler of democratic causes. She filed a wrongful termination lawsuit. The case went to the Virginia State Supreme Court. They ruled that in a right-to-work State; she was an “at-will employee” and that her employer did not discriminate against her by virtue of age, race, gender, etc. (Federal protections). They upheld her termination as just. A man in Colorado, who worked for a Budweiser distributor, ordered a Bud while off-duty one weekend in a bar. The place was packed and the waitress brought him a Coors by mistake. Since he was obviously angry for having to wait so long just to get the wrong beer, she told him that the Coors was on the House and that she would work a Bud back around to him as soon as she could. He didn’t know his boss was also at the bar and observed him drinking the Coors. Monday morning he was fired, despite the mistake and not paying for the drink. The man filed a wrongful termination lawsuit. The Colorado State Supreme Court found that he was an “at-will employee” and upheld the employer’s decision. McSame supports a NATIONAL Right-To-Work Law. IS THIS YOUR IDEA OF FREEDOM LOVING? Our soldiers are fighting and dieing for no more freedom than that…are you kidding me?
McSame also supported legislation that would make union members pay income tax on healthcare premiums paid for by our employers as a benefit. That’s right…he wants to tax your healthcare benefits. Don’t tell me he doesn’t favor increasing taxes. Does that sound decent to you? Another thing; American is spelt with a capital “A.”
As for “Ahmadinejad, Castro, and Putin:”
Cuba is the only nation with which trade is effectively closed by The Trading with the Enemy Act, sometimes abbreviated as TWEA. TWEA is a United State federal law enacted in 1917 to restrict trade with countries hostile to the United States. The law gives the President the power to oversee or restrict any and all trade between the U.S. and her enemies in times of war. Bush, who you feel we should put aside our “hatefulness and vindictiveness against,” recently lifted North Korea from the ban. He did leave North Korea under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
IEEPA is a United States Federal Law allowing the President of the United States to identify any unusual extraordinary threat that originates outside the United States and to confiscate property and prohibit transactions in response. In the United States Code, the IEEPA is Title 50, sections 1701-1707. As of 2008, commerce with the following countries and people is restricted under the IEEPA:
Belarus (since 2006 for undermining democratic institutions)
Iran (since 1979 for the Iran hostage crisis and subsequent sponsorship of terrorism)
Myanmar (since 1997 for repressing democratic opposition)
North Korea (since 2008 for risk of the proliferation weapon-usable fissile material)
Russia (since 2000 to prevent export of weapons-grade uranium)
Sudan (since 1997 for human rights violations and sponsoring terrorism)
Syria (since 2004 for sponsorship of terrorism and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction)
Zimbabwe (since 2003 for undermining democratic institutions)
So, from what you now know, wouldn’t you prefer Barack Obama “across the table from the likes of Ahmadinejad, Castro, and Putin?” Even though, Ahmadinejad and Castro have never actually sat across the table from a U.S. President.
This is great! The kind of dialog that has been presented here so far is exactly what is needed for labor to move forward. We can’t be expected to be doing the same old thing at this point in time in the political arena. The middle class has been dissolving in front of our eyes for years and the movers and shakers in the political movement for labor are still working inside the box. Bureaucracy ain’t it grand.
As a 67 year old retired worker, you might say I’ve been around the block a time or two. Although no longer working, I’ll never retire from my union, or the labor movement and what it stands for.
Over the course of many years I’ve seen plenty.
One thing that has always confounded me is the term “Reagan Democrats”. That moniker was the product of the media. There really is no such thing. Either you’re a Democrat or you’re not. Same thing with other titles.. Either you’re a union member or you’re not. Either you’re a parent or you’re not. Either you’re a person of conscience or you’re not.
So-called “Reagan Democrats” were hoodwinked. They were hoodwinked into voting against their own best interests and, consequently, the best interests of fellow workers. Too many people declared themselves “independent voters” and in doing so forgot their origins.
Reagan attacked unions. He started dismantling social programs that were originally designed to protect and enhance the living standards of working class America. Today we are witnessing the results. We have a health care crisis. Public education is being starved. Social Security is under attack. Factories continue to shut down here at home, and our jobs are going overseas. Housing is growing more and more unaffordable. Workers are being robbed of their pensions. Worksites are more unsafe.
Everyone of those issues concerns working class men and women. Now they are being stripped away. What, exactly, did “independence” produce? Economic insecurity, that’s what!
In 2008 we must vote in our own best interests. When we do, we’ll be voting in the best interests of our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors, our communities, and our nation too. We must never again allow “wedge issues” to divide us. History has shown us that so-called [fake] “independence” comes at a very high price.
Barack Obama is the only candidate who is offering change. All the pro-McCain hype about “experience” ignores one all important fact. The people serving in Congress have years and years of “experience”. There are hundreds and hundreds of years of “experience”. Look where all that “experience” has gotten us. Working class America is on the ropes!
We’re labor people. Part of our heritage is to help other workers in distress. This November, vote in our own best interests. Your family and friends will love you for it.
Elect Barack Obama president!
Great post Rich! You’ve crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s. From one old retired guy to another…two thumbs up!!
I agree that this endorsement, in fact, ANY endorsement by the AFL-CIO was long in coming…too long. Anyone with half a brain knows that John Sweeney and others were waiting in the wings with that thieving bastard Terry McAuliffe and Hillary Clinton ready to sell us out in a NY minute. I can back Sen. Obama but if Hillary had won, I’m afraid that I would’ve had to sit this one out. I liked Billy BJ plenty, but I have said for over 15 years that HRC was the most potentially dangerous person on the planet. Hell, even four more years with McSame would’ve been better than having her ass sitting in the oval office. Her and Bush would make quite a team…neither one of them will listen to advice and they both spend money like drunken sailors. Go figure…
Now, do you remember where the Democratic debate on the subject of special interest contributions was almost a year ago? Allow me to refresh your memory with what began as a quite straightforward question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LY0AqYXZC4
Shortly thereafter; Obama brought the crowd to their feet as he championed the cause with this follow-up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQK84pmCfBY&feature=related
This subject was brought up at every subsequent gathering, thereafter, and was debated with great enthusiasm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xaWahAwiiU&feature=related
(Just for the record, Labor PACs (Political Action Committees) were outspent $18 to $1, as stated by Edwards, in the previous election cycle by Corporate PACs. They are currently being outspent almost $30 to $1. There is just no way Labor can compete for equal access, let alone influence, with our government’s Representatives so long as the playing field heavily favors Corporate special interests. It’s a fight that Labor and other Democrats are going to continue losing, unless something CHANGES.)
Democrats have come a long way since then. Now, after a long Primary season; victoriously, here is where Democrats find themselves:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4122885930486275222&q=pac+money&ei=C5hLSJHOG4SSrgL9o_WbDA&hl=en
The new policy direction of the DNC has been made possible ONLY because there were enough courageous people willing to stand together and defeat these powerful forces. Collectively, we have united and accomplished what none of us could have individually for the common good of all Americans, regardless of which candidate you may have supported. Although the victory was a close one; we have now empowered our candidate to bring about a CHANGE in policy that genuinely works for the betterment of the public interest. This is only the beginning of the kind of change in store for Washington and the United States, if you have the courage that is required to face down the fear that lays ahead.
Democrats are going to stop feeding from the same corporate trough as the republicans fatten themselves. Together, we will run out the special interests from the Democratic Party; and soon, the rest of our government. In time, the influence they have over our government will diminish. Gradually, we will see even more ambitious policy shifts tilting power to the people and away from the special interests; but we must be willing to persevere and muster the courage to continue fighting the good fight. It’s one that our children can not afford for us to lose.
For me, the announcement was nothing short of turning the tables of the money changers within the chambers of the most sacred Government buildings our world knows. I am confident that things are going to get worse, economically, before they get better as a direct result of this “shot across the bow.” Please join me and thousands of others, now, in making a small contribution in support our common good. Should you feel that you can’t afford to give, right now; I would argue that, especially right now, you can’t afford not to.
http://www.democrats.org/page/m/672233a06c086a75/5n30XT/VEsE/
Obama has easily shown himself to be American and for all the American people especially the working man that has made America what it is today. His position of against the FTA with Colombia is key. Those like McCain who tell you that American jobs won’t go to a country that has a low wage rate that is purposely kept that way by a ruling rich and elite is spouting foolish beliefs. Obama has already seen Owen-Illiniois close their Godfrey plants putting hundreds out of jobs only to send those jobs to Colombia and where it appears the government supports abuses against workers. Colombia again this year continues to lead the world in murders of union members and it still has one of the most unequal distributions of wealth in the world. Imagine being a union member and if you are murdered there is a 97% chance that your killer will never be brought to justice. McCain is scheduled to visit Colombia this month, just watch for the half-truths and misinformation he spouts after his visit. What America does not need is more of this being fed to the people. The truth may hurt, but we need a president that is able to tell it as it is, to let the people make informed decisions and to listen to the people. McCain show already shown he listens to only the rich. And the current economy shows that the trickle down effect does not work. It is now what is good for the American worker is good for America.