Last night, when John McCain formally accepted the Republican nomination, his speech drew heavily on his honorable military service going back more than 30 years. Unfortunately, what his speech left out is serious attention to the real issues facing working families.
Today, new numbers show that the unemployment rate has hit 6.1 percent—a five-year high—and that the economy shed some 84,000 jobs in August. When you combine the unemployment rate and the inflation rate—the so-called “misery index”—the squeeze on working families is the worst it’s been since 1991.
Would you know that from McCain’s acceptance speech, or that of his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin? From any of the convention speakers and surrogates who tried over the past week to convince America to vote for the McCain-Palin ticket? Sadly, the important issues of jobs, health care, housing, fair trade and retirement security seemed the furthest thing from the minds of McCain and his allies.
The dismal unemployment figures released this morning by the Labor Department are even worse when you look below the surface. While overall unemployment in August reached a five-year high of 6.1 percent, the rate for African Americans hit 10.6 percent, the first time in three years it has been in double digits. In August, the economy lost jobs for the eighth consecutive month. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) says in its analysis of the jobs report:
in every period since 1948 when payrolls have declined this consistently, the economy has been in an official recession.
Last night, as the Republicans ended their convention, union volunteers across the country reached out to fellow members to get them ready for the fall election season.
More than 10,000 union members got together at 150 locations in key states around the nation, and they hit the streets with a message about Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain and the change the country needs. More than 200,000 union households nationwide got visits last night.
More evidence today shows why the economy is the issue in the 2008 elections. The Labor Department announced the nation's unemployment rate jumped to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August, up from 5.7 percent in July.
Employers cut 84,000 jobs last month. Combined with revised figures for June and July, the total number of jobs lost in three months comes to 244,000, showing that the spiraling economy is falling heavily on the backs of working people. August is the eighth consecutive month that employers had cut jobs. Some 9.4 million people were jobless in August, compared with 7.1 million last year.
Since 2003, Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate, has been reaching out to working people who aren’t union members, engaging them on issues familiar to union members as well: health care, good jobs, retirement security. Recruiting an astounding two-thirds of the people its canvassers contact, Working America has a proven record of issue advocacy, including letter-writing and petitions. And as Working America gears up its efforts for November’s elections, readers of The Nation got an introduction to the organization—including its electoral record:
Oregon state AFL-CIO president Tom Chamberlain credits Working America's canvassing in 2006 with Democrats winning a tough gubernatorial race, control of the Oregon House of Representatives and campaigns against several right-wing ballot measures, as well as critical legislative and budget victories last year.
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