Bikers Rally For Obama

by James Parks, Oct 27, 2008

Barack Obama’s candidacy has changed the dynamics of national politics, bringing together youth, progressives, people of color, union members and leather jacketed, hog-riding bikers.

More than 30 bikers, most of them members of  the Letter Carriers (NALC) and Teamsters, and other supporters joined a cookout and rally in Columbia, Mo., yesterday to show support for Obama and his plans to revive the middle class. After the rally, the bikers, calling themselves “Bikers for Obama,” headed off for a scenic ride to the state capitol in Jefferson City with Obama 2008 stickers proudly displayed on their union-made Harleys.

Kevin Boyer, president of the Missouri NALC, says it makes sense for union bikers to back Obama:

Union members and bikers understand that Barack Obama represents our interests the best. More than 700 union families depend on the Harley-Davidson plant in Clay County, Mo. But if John McCain gets elected, more and more of our bikes and manufactured goods will be built in China and India, not here in the U.S. 

The Missouri AFL-CIO is undertaking its largest-ever grassroots mobilization effort on behalf of candidates who will fight for health care, retirement security and good jobs. Over the past several months, union volunteers have communicated with their friends, co-workers and neighbors at their homes and worksites, online and over the phone.  

On Election Day, more than 450,000 Missouri union voters are expected to turn out to the polls, making up 32 percent of the total statewide electorate. And you can be sure some of them will show up at the polls on the back of a Harley.

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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.

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