Virginia Union Voters Count the Ways McCain Opposes Workers’ Issues

Virginia union members are fighting hard to win an historic working families victory in the traditional red and Republican commonwealth. Julie Hunter, Labor 2008 state communications director, describes how union members are getting out the vote and sending the message that John McCain’s no friend of workers.

Last week, union members in the Tidewater area got together to “rat” out Sen. John McCain on some of his more questionable policies, proposals and Senate votes. Jim Avery from Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1340 hosted the gathering. (See video.)

Matt Yeargin, a member of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), “ratted out” McCain on veterans’ issues. He said that the group Disabled American Veterans gave McCain just a 20 percent rating, while Sen. Barack Obama earned an 80 percent.

United Steelworkers (USW) member Gene Magruder and AFT member Joni Shifflett dropped a dime on McCain’s plan to tax health care benefits. Asked Shifflet:

Health care is already expensive and now he wants to tax it?

AFGE member David Richardson said it was time to inform on McCain and his economic policy and tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations.

McCain wants to give big tax breaks to the wealthy and nothing for working people. Sen. Obama wants to give us something and we appreciate that.

Union members also discussed how McCain supports unfair trade deals and his weak stance on outsourcing jobs. Said Letter Carriers (NALC) member Steve Kirby:

We can’t let these companies continue to get tax breaks for taking jobs overseas. Barack Obama supports ending those giveaways and instead wants to reward companies who create American jobs.

NALC member Jaime Drayton Bey summed it up, noting that on all the issues that matter to union members,

John McCain is not friendly to unions. Barack Obama is the best and only choice for workers.

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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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