ProgressOhio

This Saturday, 511 labor activists at 18 sites (with four more scheduled soon) around the state of Ohio walked door-to-door to talk to fellow Union and Working America members about the issues at stake in the elections this year. It was truly an amazing occasion, one that made use of everything that makes the labor movement strong – from the great organizing it took to make these walks happen, to the fundamental love of democracy that we see in working men and women talking face-to-face with their brothers and sisters about the political issues that matter to them. You can see a video of some of the participants in the Columbus walks talking about their experience Saturday at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EmcffM6Exs.

Members who walked Saturday said that the response they got from folks was overwhelmingly positive. Over and over again, we heard that people really just wanted to talk about their lives and their issues – “they just wanted somebody to listen to them for once,” said Cynthia O’Kane of the CWA. Many thanks and congratulations to everyone who made these walks happen, especially the members who volunteered some of their Saturday to get the message out to members that it’s time for their voices to be heard.

"Get a job!" shouted a man in an SUV as he drove past demonstrators at a McCain event in Columbus this morning.

Butch Deems, a retired USW member now working on the political staff for the Steelworkers, shouted back, enfuriated. He blames free trade deals promoted by John McCain and others for the crushing job loss in Ohio. Butch says he was "fortunate enough to work until I retired," but he's seen countless of his brothers and sisters in the Steelworkers laid off as companies have moved offshore.

An AFL staffer noted, "It's not a real demonstration until someone tells you to get a job."

The demonstrators at this morning's event, many if not all of whom are employed, represented the AFL-CIO, Working America, Progress Ohio, America Votes, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the Steelworkers, and other organizations.  Reporters from The Canton Repository, Columbus Dispatch, Toledo Blade and The Wall Street Journal all interviewed members.  

Meanwhile, inside the Convention Center, John McCain said he thought Iraq would be "a functioning democracy" and that most U.S. troops would be home by 2013. As The New York Times notes, this surreal suggestion is "a striking departure from his refusal so far to set a date for U.S. withdrawal" -- what some might call a "flip-flop."

Outside the Convention Center, folks were more focused on McCain's other weaknesses -- like his poor record on the environment, and particularly his disastrous plan for health care, which would quite possibly lead to the end of employer-provided health coverage.

Photos from this event are available on our flickr page, http://www.flickr.com/photos/TakeBackOhio.