Cecil Roberts

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.

DENVER – Ads attacking Kentucky candidates for their stance on the Employee Free Choice Act have been airing in the Commonwealth for some time this election season. Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford is one particular target of the ads, which claim the act allows for labor leaders to pressure workers into joining union.

Organized labor, meanwhile, has blasted the ads and defended their own support of the act. The legislation itself 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.

As Kentucky has a significant number of unions and union workers, the issue has made some waves in the state. On Tuesday, a key national labor leader paid a visit to the Kentucky delegation at the Democratic National Convention and delivered a fiery defense of the EFCA.

United Mine Workers of America president Cecil Roberts – a native of neighboring West Virginia – said EFCA gave workers more freedom to unionize – a right Roberts said has been lost in many parts of the country since the New Deal-era.

“In 25 percent – one in every four organizing efforts - somebody gets fired for saying ‘I’d like to be in a union,’” said Roberts. “That’s not the United States of America, that’s communist China. Were acting more and more like them.”

DENVER -- As more of Kentucky's prominent elected Democratic leaders arrived in Denver for their party's national convention today, the line-up of speakers at the delegation breakfast was bolstered - and then supplemented by some special guests.

This morning, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean made a surprise appearance to kick off the line-up. He spoke for nearly 15 minutes on campaign strategy and the prospects for Kentucky Democrats.

Dean was followed by Washington D.C.'s "shadow Senator" Michael Brown, who spoke to assembled delegates about his hometown's lack of official Congressional representation.

U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler (D-Versailles) then took the podium for remarks in which he announced his support of Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville), who later closed the morning speaking program.

Chandler was followed by delegate Ken Koch, a labor organizer. Koch introduced United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts, who delivered a fiery speech slamming Republicans and the current nationwide advertising campaign targeting Democrats for their support of the Employee Free Choice Act.