PA AFL-CIO Endorses Bob Casey Jr. for U.S. Senate
Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President William George today announced the AFL-CIO's endorsement of Pennsylvania State Treasurer Robert P. Casey, Jr. for United States Senate. The early endorsement was made by the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Executive Council, meeting in Harrisburg.
"We are headed in the wrong direction," George declared. "President Bush and his allies in the Congress, led by Senator Rick Santorum, are rolling back decades of progress for working families. Their proposal to privatize social security jeopardizes the retirement and economic security of millions of working families. Recent passage of CAFTA will result in the loss of thousands of more good jobs and lower living standards for Pennsylvania's working families. Every day more workers lose their health care and sink into poverty, while President Bush and Senator Rick Santorum continue attacking good jobs, decent wages, and benefits of hardworking men and women," George said.
"It's time to set a new direction for the nation and it begins in Pennsylvania by electing Bob Casey to the U.S. Senate and sending Rick Santorum back to his home in Virginia," George emphasized.
"Bob Casey is committed to setting a new agenda in Washington, which addresses the needs and concerns of working families. As Auditor General and State Treasurer, he has built a solid record of support and leadership on behalf of working families. Bob Casey believes, as we do, that government's purpose is to promote the well-being of all citizens, and not more giveaways and favors to big corporations and the well-connected," George said.
"It is for these reasons, as well as many more, that I am proud to announce that the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, representing over 800,000 working men and women, endorse Bob Casey, Jr. for United States Senate," George concluded.
"Bob Casey is committed to fighting for working families by addressing our issues and concerns in the U.S. Senate: the nation's health care crisis, strengthening social security, raising the minimum wage, and opposing unfair trade deals that destroy our jobs and living standards," Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Bloomingdale declared.
"The early endorsement gives the Labor Movement the best opportunity to mobilize volunteers and resources to help elect Bob Casey to the U.S. Senate," Bloomingdale declared. "Our goal is to educate and mobilize even more union households than in 2004 when union members and volunteers helped John Kerry win Pennsylvania's electoral votes. Bob Casey will have the full support of the Labor Movement because he has actively supported AFL-CIO members and their families and we know he is a leader we can count on," Bloomingdale said.
Nanci Mulzet, a member of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Executive Council and President of IBEW Local 1522, representing workers in the Lehigh Valley, said she supports Bob Casey's commitment to solving the nation's health care crisis. "What a great opportunity to be able to elect a man like Bob Casey who recognizes the health care problems we face and offers solutions, not lip service," Mulzet said.
Norma Braidigan, a member of the Executive Council and Director of District Council 86 of AFSCME, said she is "very proud to support the endorsement of Bob Casey because he will be a strong advocate for the working people of Pennsylvania."
The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO also endorsed State Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman and State Supreme Court Justice Russell M. Nigro for retention in the November General Election on November 5, 2005.