AFL-CIO

LOUISVILLE -- Meeting with six union members and local and national labor leaders, Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford, fielded questions about his positions on health care and the state of the economy today at a United Auto Workers hall in Louisville.

In responding, Lunsford sought to connect his opponent, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) with President Bush, by denouncing their economic policy as "wreckless."

"You could take 3 things that the Bush-McConnell tandem did: the Iraq war, the tax cuts for the wealthy, and the Bankruptcy Act," said Lunsford. "They don't do those three things, we are not where we are today."

Lunsford singled out the impact of the 2005 Bankruptcy overhaul that has come under criticism by some who say the bill made it more difficult for consumers and businesses to get the protection of bankruptcy filings.

"The bankruptcy act was totally driven by the credit card companies to put us in this spot to make the dominos fall," Lunsford added. "Why don't we reverse that?"

United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts is scheduled to be the latest national labor leader to visit Kentucky during the general election season. Roberts will appear in Louisville next Monday, meeting with union workers, U.S. Sen. candidate Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville), and state AFL-CIO president Bill Londrigan.

The meeting is purportedly an effort to discuss how recent economic fluctuations will impact workers’ “economic future and choices in the upcoming elections,” according to a release from the national AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO has endorsed the presidential candidacy of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) against U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lunsford, in his contest against incumbent U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville).

“Working people in Kentucky are facing a road of economic turmoil, loss of good jobs, and home foreclosures,” said Londrigan in a statement. “John McCain’s and Mitch McConnell’s records show that they would support more of the same.”

“We want to discuss which candidates’ records will turn us around towards economic prosperity and which will keep us on the same road,” added Londrigan of the meeting.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnellEfforts by the national and state incarnations of the AFL-CIO to mobilize its union membership in opposition to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) are taking another step forward tonight as national leadership from organized labor will rally activists at a Louisville event.

Former AFL-CIO Director of Organizing Stewart Acuff, who now serves as assistant to the national AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, will address the Kentucky Jobs for Justice chapter tonight at that group’s anniversary dinner and Solidarity Awards ceremony.

The national AFL-CIO says Acuff will highlight connections between McConnell and President Bush in an effort to encourage activists to continue their organizing push through the Nov. 4 general election.

Acuff is also scheduled to distribute leaflets targeting McConnell, the U.S. Senate minority leader, at worksites throughout Louisville tomorrow.

Organized labor interests in Kentucky are continuing their push for their endorsed candidates this week with a planned rally tomorrow in western Kentucky at the Kentucky Dam Village park in Gilbertsville.

Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford is among the confirmed guests for the rally, according to a spokesperson from the AFL-CIO. He will be joined by several state and regional labor leaders, including Maurice Davidson of the United Auto Workers, Billy Thompson of the United Steel Workers, and Bill Londrigan, President of the Kentucky AFL-CIO.

The rally is said to be "in support of candidates who will work to build an economy that works for all."

Organized labor is stepping up its efforts in Kentucky’s U.S. Senate race this week, as the AFL-CIO is firing off a mailer denouncing incumbent U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s record on economic issues.

In what is being identified as the start of the AFL-CIO’s final push in Kentucky, 32,000 mailers will go out to union households and AFL-CIO members today. Two different pieces are being dispatched as part of the effort.

The first (right click, save as) claims McConnell (R-Louisville) “stands with lobbyists, not with us,” and criticizes to the four-term senator’s opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act – a union-favored bill that would remove an employer’s ability to demand a secret ballot election for union certification when a majority of employees have signed union cards.

DENVER – Kentucky labor unions are mobilizing to counteract the impact of an advertising campaign targeting Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) for supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, according to AFL-CIO Vice-President Ken Koch.

The ads attacking Lunsford claim the EFCA legislation would "take away your right to a private vote."

"The membership is outraged," Koch told PolitickerKY.com in Denver, where Koch is serving as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. "The facts are it's not taking a vote away from them, it's taking the power away from the corporation and giving it to the working people."

The EFCA legislation removes an employer's option of calling for a secret ballot vote on unionization and permits union certification when a majority of employees have signed union membership cards.

Koch said Kentucky unions were reaching out to their membership about the legislation and the ads, and hoping members push that perspective to others.

Kentucky AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan rejected new radio ads launched against Democratic Senate nominee Bruce Lunsford as the product of "anti-labor" forces, in a brief interview with PolitickerKY.com today.

The one-minute radio spots paid for by the Employee Freedom Action Committee started airing late last week. They target Lunsford, of Louisville, for his support of so-called "card-check" legislation - a major issue standing between organized labor and business interests.

"Card-check" policy provisions would remove an employer's option to call for a secret ballot vote during union certification efforts and allow certification when a majority of employees in a workplace have signed union membership cards.

Such provisions were formalized in the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007, which failed to pass the U.S. Senate in June of last year.

"This campaign is being put forth by anti-labor politicians and associated groups spending money to lie and discredit the Employee Free Choice Act," said Londrigan.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville): Getty Images PhotoLOUISVILLE - Dubbed by organizers a "museum on wheels to highlight the failures of the Bush administration," a bio-diesel powered bus touring communities with vulnerable incumbent members of Congress rolled into Louisville last night for a two-day stay. The visit culminated in a rally today near U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Louisville) district office, when local activists targeted the four-term incumbent for his connections to the Bush presidency.

"We are all here so we can show people what the legacy of George W. Bush has been," said Kentucky AFL-CIO president Bill Londrigan in remarks made to a small crowd gathered around the bus. "And to let everybody know who his friends and his cohorts in his effort to destroy his country have been."

The event and tour were organized by Americans United for Change (AUC), a group receiving support from several national labor unions - including the AFL-CIO. The group previously ran a 2005 campaign protesting against the privatization of social security, and the "Bush Legacy" rolling exhibit is its latest endeavour.

LOUISVILLE -- Arguing against the speculation of many pundits, Kentucky state AFL-CIO president Bill Londrigan told PolitickerKY.com the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), is connecting with many in the Bluegrass State -- including members of his labor coalition.

Rejecting the notion that Obama would struggle with white, working-class voters in the state because of his race, Londrigan said AFL-CIO membership was "a lot more likely to vote for Obama" as he "represents real change, no matter what color he is."

"People are writing off the electorate, but a lot of people are supporting Obama," Londrigan said.

Obama's opponent in Kentucky's May 20 Democratic primary, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) won the state by more than 35 points. Londrigan, however, pointed to Obama's successes as evidence of the Illinois senator's potential in the state.

Steve Robertson took the helm of the Republican Party of Kentucky last year. He moved into that position after working in the office of Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher and a stint as Director of Operations for the Georgia Republican Party.  read more »