Union Veterans Backed Obama Nov. 4

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/11/11/union-veterans-backed-obama-nov-4/

by Seth Michaels, Nov 11, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama is coming into office with the strong support of millions of union members who have served in the U.S. armed forces. The AFL-CIO’s post-election polling shows Obama won among union veterans by a 25-point margin over Sen. John McCain. Among the nonunion population, veterans voted for McCain by nine percentage points.

The AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council made a concerted effort to focus on issues specifically concerning veterans—including education and health care benefits—and the economic concerns that are on the minds of veterans and military families this year, such as housing, jobs and retirement security.



More than 2 million union members and many more union retirees have served their country in the military, making veterans’ issues crucial to a sizable percentage of union members. Outreach by and to these union members paid off in electing pro-worker, pro-veteran candidates like Obama.


In reaching out to millions of union veterans across the country, volunteers and members of the Union Veterans Council focused on President-elect Obama’s support for increased veterans’ health funding and the 21st Century GI Bill, and contrasted it with McCain’s poor record on these issues. Obama pledged to strengthen and expand Veterans Affairs (VA) health care, and he had the voting record to back it up.


FULL story at link.