Wisconsin Union Members: McCain’s Record a Disaster for Women

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/07/14/wisconsin-union-members-mccains-record-a-disaster-for-women/

Sue Ledbetter, Labor 2008 state director for Wisconsin, reports on Sen. John McCain’s visit to the state.

In a play for women’s votes, Sen. John McCain held a town hall in Hudson, Wis., to address issues facing women. But workers from around the region turned out at the event to speak out against McCain’s economic and health care record, which has left women in the dust, and to set the record straight on McCain’s claims to support equal pay for women—when, in fact, he opposed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

McCain’s record on a number of issues shows that his agenda wouldn’t improve the lives of millions of working women who are hit hard by the ongoing economic crisis. (For real-life stories of how the economy is hurting women and families, check out Ask a Working Woman survey, sponsored by the AFL-CIO and our community affiliate, Working America.)



The doors to McCain’s town hall meeting opened at 10 a.m., but a quickly growing group of protesters was already established by 7 a.m. Workers from UAW Local 722; OPEIU 277; AFT 5000; AFT 3535; AFT 340; and AFSCME were all in attendance, as well as several allies. Janet Polansky, a member of AFT Local 5000, a union of faculty and academic staff at the University of Wisconsin, came out because she was concerned about what McCain’s policies would mean for women.

John McCain has one of the worst records on women’s issues in the entire Senate. He voted against the Family and Medical Leave Act; voted against equal pay for women—including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act—that would have given women the right to sue for wage discrimination. He opposes all kinds of family planning programs, including funding prevention of unwanted teenage pregnancies.

FULL story at link.

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