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The Western Kentucky Worker | |
Official newsletter of the Western Kentucky Area
Council, AFL-CIO
Prepared by Berry Craig, KEA-NEA and AFT Local 6038
Volume 9, Number 8, August 2008
Wiggins urges support for union-endorsed candidates
Union members will have plenty of candidates to cheer for at the Fancy Farm picnic even if Sen. Barack Obama doesn't show up, Jeff Wiggins says.
“We hope he can make it, but several of our endorsed candidates are expected,” said Wiggins, council president. “It's important that we have a good turnout and show our support for the people who support us.”
Kentucky 's most famous political picnic will be Aug. 2. The first-Saturday-in-August feed at Fancy Farm is synonymous with barbecue and political speeches, both often as hot as the late summer weather.
Local Democrats also host two pre-picnic meals, which have become traditions, too. The Marshall County Democratic Executive Committee will put on its annual bean dinner Aug. 1. The Kentucky Dam Village State Park feast starts at 5 p.m. The Graves County Democratic Executive Committee breakfast is set for 8 a.m. Aug. 2 at Mayfield High School .
In addition, the West Kentucky Building and Construction Trades Council is sponsoring an 11:30 a.m. luncheon at the Mid-America Expo Center in Paducah .
“Several of our candidates will be at all three of those events,” Wiggins said.
The AFL-CIO endorsed Obama, who is from Illinois , after he won enough delegates and superdelegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination over his main rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York. Obama is expected to be nominated at the Democratic National Convention in Denver , Aug. 25-17.
Both Obama and Clinton enjoyed significant labor support in the presidential primaries. Some unions backed Obama; others were for Clinton .
The national AFL-CIO endorsed Obama after Clinton conceded defeat. “ Barack Obama has proven from his days as an organizer, to his time in the Senate and his historic run for the presidency, that he's leading the fight to turn around America,” said John Sweeney, AFL-CIO president.
“As a champion for working families, Obama knows what it's going to take to create an economy that works for everyone, not just Big Oil, Big Pharma, the insurance companies, the giant mortgage lenders, speculators and the very wealthy. We're proud to stand with Sen. Obama to help our nation chart a course that will improve life for generations of working people and our children.”
Sweeney added,”Obama has vowed to fight for working families and for an economy that works for all — and he has the record to prove it. As a church-based community organizer, Obama assisted those affected by closing steel mills. As a state senator in Illinois , he sponsored legislation to expand health care and protect overtime pay. As a U.S. senator, Obama has earned a 98 percentLifetime rating from the AFL-CIO. And all along, he's marched on picket lines and rallied with striking workers.”
On the other hand, McCain, the Republican candidate for president, has only a 16 percent pro-labor COPE score. “We're on to McCain,” said Wiggins. “He's ‘John McSame,' as in the same old anti-union policies of George W. Bush.”
Other union endorsed candidates with opponents in the Nov. 4 general election include Bruce Lunsford, Carroll Hubbard and Mike Lawrence. All are Democrats.
Lunsford is challenging Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Republican. “Like ‘John McSame,' McConnell is one of the most anti-union members of the Senate,” Wiggins said. “His COPE rating is just 11 percent.”
Hubbard, a former congressman who lives in Mayfield, is battling state Sen. Ken Winters of Murray to represent the First Senatorial District in Frankfort . The district includes Carlisle, Hickman, Fulton , Graves, Marshall , McCracken, Lyon and Trigg Counties .
“Carroll is for us and Winters is a puppet for [Senate President] David Williams, the biggest union hater in Frankfort ,” Wiggins said. “It's as simple as that.”
State Rep. Will Coursey, a Benton banker who represents the Sixth House District, had opposition until Republican Marvin Wilson, an Eddyville attorney, dropped out of the race. The Sixth District encompasses Marshall and Lyon counties and a small part of McCracken County . Coursey succeeded State Rep. J.R. Gray who resigned to become labor commissioner.
Coursey defeated Wilson in a special election early this year. He was expected to had another defeat to Wilson, who lost to Gray twice.
Lawrence, the McCracken County circuit court clerk, wants to unseat First District State Rep. Steven Rudy. Both are from West Paducah . Rudy represents Ballard, Carlisle, Hickman and Fulton counties and part of McCracken County . “Mike is definitely our man,” Wiggins said.
Other labor-endorsed candidates for the legislature have no opposition in November. They are State Reps. Fred Nesler of Mayfield, Melvin Hendley of Murray and Mike Cherry of Princeton . All are Democrats.
“We have other candidates in the Paducah city races,” Wiggins said. “We've got to elect Robert Coleman and get rid of Bill Paxton, probably the most anti-union mayor in Paducah history.
“But we've also got to get Robert some help. We've got to reelect Richard Abraham. We'll be behind Gerald Watkins if wins the Democratic nomination for Rasche's seat or runs for reelection as a commissioner,” Wiggins said.
Watkins had planned to run for a second term on the city commission. But he is a candidate for the Third District House seat which State Rep. Frank Rasche, D-Paducah, said he will vacate to become policy adviser and legislative liaison in the state Department of Education. The McCracken County Democratic Executive Committee will name the party's candidate for the Nov. 4 election. Local Republicans can nominate a candidate, too. If Watkins wins the nomination, he will bow out of the race for the commission.
Return to Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council Home Page
State labor federation head says ‘vote green' on Nov. 4
By BILL LONDRIGAN
Kentucky State AFL-CIO President
We Americans really care about color.
We adore the red, white and blue of our flag. We love blue skies and amber waves of grain. We drive cars and wear clothes of every color imaginable. We are also fixated by skin color: black, white, brown, yellow. But most of all, we are fascinated with and obsessed with the color of money – GREEN.
Yes, brothers and sisters we Americans value the color “green” over all others. “Green” determines whether you are rich or poor, where you live, where you go to school, what kind of car you drive, what kind of house you live in, what kind of health care you have, and whether you can retire comfortably or not. In America how much “green” you have is the most important factor for determining your standard of living as well as the standard of living of your children and grandchildren. For the average working family, those among our heralded middle-class, the color “green” is becoming scarcer. Just take a look at gas prices and the ripple effect these historically high gas prices are having on middle-class incomes. It takes a whole lot more “green” to fill up the tank than it did just a few years ago. It takes a whole lot more “green” to go to the market and buy the food and household items it takes to maintain a middle-class lifestyle. It takes more and more “green” to pay for out of control health care costs and buy necessary prescription drugs. Every year the cost of education has increased dramatically requiring families to shell out more “green” for tuition and other education expenses.
While folks are struggling to figure out how to get more “green” for themselves and their families to simply maintain what they have, their ability to get more “green” has diminished as wages stagnate, millions of good paying jobs are shipped overseas, unemployment climbs, home foreclosures skyrocket, personal bankruptcies explode and union-busting denies millions of workers the opportunity to get more “green” through collective bargaining. The only members of our society still seeing “green” are those with upper-class incomes that have benefited from huge tax cuts, CEOs whose salaries dwarf the pay of average workers, hedge fund managers that make billions from speculation and those that inherit family wealth. Yes, these folks are still seeing “green” and laughing all the way to the bank.
So, as we approach the November elections I would like you to think about your standard of living and that of your children. I want you to think about our favorite color – GREEN. Forget about white and black. Forget about skin color.
Just remember that the color “green” determines your standard of living. Remember about those in our society who are seeing less and less “green.” Ask yourself whether or not your children will have more or less “green” in their lives. The politicians and pundits want you to think like old time televisions – black and white. But if you care about your country, your family and your future – think and vote “green.” Support candidates that will work to make sure members of the American middle-class have enough “green” to insure they can provide a comfortable living for their families.
Return to Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council Home Page
‘Straight Shooter' shoots himself in the foot over gas prices
By CHRIS KELLY
The Huffington Post
John McCain kind of stepped in it the other day, here in California , but luckily no one noticed. He was being driven from John Wayne airport to a fundraiser, and he took a quick call from Martin Wisckol of the Orange County Register . Wisckol asked him a series of softball questions so tedious McCain's driver had to crack the window so the breeze would keep him from passing out, but then this:
WISCKOL: I'd like to ask you a couple questions suggested by voters here. They're not reporter-type questions.
McCAIN : Sure. It'd be a pleasure.
WISCKOL : When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost?
McCAIN : Oh, I don't remember. Now there's Secret Service protection. But I've done it for many, many years. I don't recall and frankly, I don't see how it matters. I've had hundreds and hundreds of town hall meetings, many as short a time ago as yesterday. I communicate with the people and they communicate with me very effectively.
... I'm going through a tunnel... ... bzzzzzzzztttttt bzzzzzztttttt...I'm gonna lose you... bzzzztttttt... bye!
No, I added that last part.
Okay. A few things here.
1) John McCain doesn't know what gas costs, because the Secret Service protects him from finding out, possibly because they're afraid the knowledge will kill him. Not a healthy man.
2) John McCain isn't an elitist or a big government bureaucrat. He's a maverick who has certainly pumped his own gas at some point in his life, perhaps during the single 18-month period when he wasn't in the navy or in congress, but was living off his wife.
3) It doesn't matter. How do we know it doesn't matter? Because John McCain says it doesn't matter.
4) John McCain may not know what gas costs or when he last pumped any, or performed any other act not connected to politics or outpatient care, but he's had hundreds of town hall meetings, many as short a time ago as yesterday. Which somehow answers questions about gas prices, but it's not clear exactly how.
5) John McCain communicates with people and they communicate with him very effectively.
6) John McCain is an excellent driver. Dad lets him drive slow down the driveway every Saturday.
7) Fifteen minutes to Wapner.
Return to Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council Home Page
In Memoriam GEORGE WIGGINS 1938-2008 Retired union firefighter, council trustee, W.C. Young Award recipient, beloved father and husband |
EXTRA!
Bill Hack will be Labor Day parade grand marshal 
Chester W. “Bill” Hack has been named grand marshal for Paducah 's 2008 Labor Day parade.
“I can think of no one more deserving of this honor than Brother Bill Hack,” said Jeff Wiggins, council president. “Bill is a war hero and a union hero.”
Hack, 87, from Paducah . is a retired business agent for Ironworkers Local 782. He worked out of the Paducah local for 53 years.
Hack was a longtime Local 782 delegate to the council. He received the W.C. Young Award, the highest honor the council bestows.
A gunner on a B-17 bomber in World War II, Hack flew 29 missions against targets in Nazi-occupied Europe . Staff Sgt. Hack earned a Distinguished Flying Cross, a Purple Heart, four Air Medals and two Presidential Unit Citations.
His badly damaged plane was shot down in the English Channel in May, 1943. Hack survived to fly in the Eighth Air Force's famous first raid on heavily-defended Schweinfurt and Regensburg , Germany , in August, 1943. The Schweinfurt-Regensburg raid was one of the bloodiest air battles of the war.
Hack logged 25 missions in 1943. He returned to air combat in 1945 and flew five more missions before the war ended.
The Paducah Labor Day parade is sponsored annually by the Western Kentucky Labor Day Committee, a non-profit all-volunteer group that depends on donations from unions, businesses and individuals.
This year's program will also feature the traditional political speaking and picnic at Carson Park . The picnic and speaking comes after the downtown parade.Return to Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council Home Page
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