AFL-CIO endorses Jill Long Thompson for Governor

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: June 6, 2008

AFL-CIO ENDORSES LONG THOMPSON FOR GOVERNOR

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Representing more than 300,000 working Hoosiers from around the state, today the Indiana State AFL-CIO Executive Board officially endorsed Jill Long Thompson for Governor.

"We are proud to give our full support to Jill Long Thompson in her campaign for Governor," said Indiana AFL-CIO President Ken Zeller. "She has a long record of standing up for working families. Her experience and commitment to growing the economy and creating good-paying jobs for all Hoosiers will help put Indiana back on track."

"For too long, Governor Daniels has ignored the loss of jobs around our state, and turned his back to working people - and that needs to change," added Zeller. "The choice is incredibly clear for working men and women across this state. Hoosier families cannot afford four more years of Mitch Daniels' administration. The AFL-CIO will do everything we can to elect Jill Long Thompson as our next Governor."

The Indiana State AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) is a federation of 800 local unions in Indiana belonging to 50 International Unions.

"I'm grateful for the support of the Indiana AFL-CIO, and the hard working members of their Unions," said Long Thompson. "Together, we will work to rebuild Indiana's economy, fight to protect good-paying jobs from leaving Indiana and we will work to attract new jobs that can support Hoosier families."

This endorsement is the latest in a growing number of key labor organizations who have publically pledged support of Long Thompson's campaign. Unions that have previously endorsed include the United Steelworkers, the Service Employee International Union, Communication Workers of America, the American Federation of Government Employees, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, the United Transportation Union, five local Teamster locals, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Indiana International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and Local #446 of Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees. More labor endorsements will be announced in the coming weeks.

Long Thompson represented Northeast Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives serving from 1989 to 1995. She also served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development from 1995 to 2001. She received her B.S. in Business from Valparaiso University and her M.B.A and Ph.D. from Indiana University. Long Thompson most recently served as CEO of The National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy. A former educator, Long Thompson and her husband Don Thompson, a commercial airline pilot, live on their family farm in Marshall County.

For more information about Jill Long Thompson or her campaign, please visit www.hoosiersforjill.com