Archive for November 11th, 2008
Union Veterans Backed Obama Nov. 4
 |
|
President-elect Barack Obama is coming into office with the strong support of millions of union members who have served in the U.S. armed forces. The AFL-CIO’s post-election polling shows Obama won among union veterans by a 25-point margin over Sen. John McCain. Among the nonunion population, veterans voted for McCain by nine percentage points.
The AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council made a concerted effort to focus on issues specifically concerning veterans—including education and health care benefits—and the economic concerns that are on the minds of veterans and military families this year, such as housing, jobs and retirement security.
More than 2 million union members and many more union retirees have served their country in the military, making veterans’ issues crucial to a sizable percentage of union members. Outreach by and to these union members paid off in electing pro-worker, pro-veteran candidates like Obama.
Honoring U.S. Vets by Ensuring They Get Jobs
 |
|
It’s wonderful that we, as a nation, set aside a day to honor America’s brave men and women who have risked their lives for our country throughout the centuries and continue to do so today. But our troops now stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere need more than just Veterans Day set aside for them in November. When they come back from combat, they need jobs to support themselves and their families in careers that put to work the skills they learned in the service.
Helmets to Hardhats, founded in 2003 by the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) unions, together with employers with union workforces, has since helped more than 5,000 military vets find new careers as electricians, plumbers, roofers and other skilled trades, says Darrel Roberts, executive director of Helmets to Hardhats.
The Helmets to Hardhats program is unique in that it was created with the singular intent of helping National Guard, Reservists and transitioning active-duty military members connect to career opportunities in the construction industry, one of the last bastions of solid middle-class wages for working Americans. Helmets to Hardhats recognizes this and is committed to placing veterans in careers that provide family-supporting wages, good benefits and a decent chance at realizing the American dream.
