Labor Union Blog

WIN Week In Review August 29-31, 2008

By Doug Cunningham

[Ackerman]: “Union families are really charged up and ready to move in a different direction, a direction that will really rebuild the middle class in this country.”

AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman, speaking from the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Ackerman says both Barack Obama and Joe Biden have a strong record of solidarity with working families on the issues. She acknowledges, though, that Obama is having difficulty attracting more white working class voters.

Looking for something to do before you go out to the Labor Day picnic? The VERSUS TV network is honoring America’s workers and sportsmen and sportswomen with its second annual “Escape to the Wild” Labor Day marathon Sept. 1, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST.

“Escape to the Wild” is the union-sponsored television series of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), which airs on VERSUS. The show rewards members of AFL-CIO unions with a hunting or fishing trips of a lifetime. The show is supported by the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), a joint venture of the TRCP and 21 unions to promote conservation and access for hunters and anglers.

As media pundits have noted, Sen. Barack Obama‘s selection of Delaware Sen. Joe Biden adds many years of foreign policy experience to the ticket.

Less well-known is Biden’s long support for working families and their unions. America’s union movement, Biden has said, is

the only thing that keeps the barbarians at the gate.

But he doesn’t stop there.

There is a middle class in this country for one reason and only one reason: the union movement.

Before you head off to the hot dogs and veggie burgers at the backyard barbecue this weekend (because who can afford the gas money to drive anywhere?), take a minute to celebrate Labor Day in a way that honors America’s working women and men.

1. Send a Labor Day e-card. Click here. (See how easy it is to take action?)

2. Help pass the Employee Free Choice Act by signing a petition here.

3. Get set to walk. What better way to mark Sen. John McCain’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Sept. 4 than by talking union-member to union-member about the important issues in this election? Stop by here to see video clips of union members describing why they’ll be walking Sept. 4 and here to read why AFL-CIO President John Sweeney is urging union members to walk Sept. 4. If you’re a union member, sign up to walk here.

Today, John McCain is arriving in Dayton, Ohio, to announce his running mate. He’s hoping to arrive to great fanfare and win over southern Ohioans. However, working families have a message: It’s time to take a closer look at McCain and his record.