AFL-CIO Launches Union Veterans Council

Cross-posted from the AFL-CIO Now Blog. The ad will air on markets in Ohio and other states.

Today the AFL-CIO launched the Union Veterans Council, bringing together veterans and members of military families to hold our leaders accountable on the issues that matter most.

You can view the ad here.

The launch of the Union Veterans Council will help mobilize the more than 2.1 million union members who are veterans to get involved in the 2008 elections and fight for the health and education benefits they deserve. These veterans will speak out to advocate policies like a fully funded Veterans Affairs (VA) and the recently passed 21st Century GI Bill.

The Union Veterans Council kicks off today in Dayton, Ohio. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney will join Building and Construction Trades Department President Mark Ayres, a military veteran and chairman of the Union Veterans Council, in announcing the national effort.

In addition to the Dayton event, union veterans are meeting at roundtable events in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Denver and Charleston, W. Va. Union veterans will launch their own state-level veterans councils and discuss plans to elect pro-working family leaders who will support veterans. Union veterans will take the lead in comparing the records of the presidential nominees, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

The AFL-CIO also is launching a TV ad today featuring Jim Wasser, a Vietnam-era veteran and retired Electrical Workers (IBEW) member. In the ad, Wasser speaks about McCain, whose military service is honorable but whose Senate voting record hasn’t supported veterans and their families. The ad will run in communities around the country hard-hit by the nation’s economic crisis.

In the ad, Wasser praises McCain’s military service and discusses his concerns about McCain’s political agenda.

Every vet respects John McCain’s war record. It’s his record in the Senate that I have a problem with.

Wasser says McCain supports continuing to spend billions in Iraq, yet he repeatedly voted against increased funding for veterans health care.

People should let McCain know that his agenda is not what we need. Not now.

Around the country, union veterans will be critical in electing a president and Congress that respect their service and look out for working families. The Union Veterans Council will make sure these veterans are educated and energized this fall.