[verbatim] WASHINGTON, DC – With Congress continuing to debate a bailout of Wall Street banks, Senators will hear from voters this week calling for action on the economic priorities of Main Street. The two million-member SEIU (Service Employees International Union) announced today it will make 150,000 calls this week to Senators running for reelection, criticizing them for failing to take action on a broader stimulus package to ease the economic pain of working families.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed a $61 billion package to aid working families and stimulate the economy that included investment in American infrastructure, increased aid to workers in the form of unemployment and food stamp benefits, home heating assistance, and Medicaid funding to cash-strapped states. Republican Senators however, blocked the bill.
Until final bailout legislation includes real assistance for working people on Main Street, SEIU is calling on the Senate to take up the stimulus measure again this week and pass it. Targeted senators who are running for reelection and voted against the stimulus include Sen. John Sununu (R- N.H.), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R- KY), and Sen. Roger Wicker (R- MS).
“Americans are fed up with politicians who are more concerned about the fate of Wall Street than the fate of Main Street,” said SEIU President Andy Stern. “We are going to make sure voters know which Senators turned their back on laid-off workers, funding for health care, and energy assistance for low-income people in their communities. We have to address the underlying economic crisis affecting working people if we want revive and rebuild our economy over the long-term.”
Economic Concerns Drive Massive Election Push
SEIU members are committing record amounts of time, money, and energy this election to educate voters about John McCain’s anti-worker agenda and elect Barack Obama and a pro-worker majority in Congress. More than 100,000 SEIU members will be volunteering in the coming months and SEIU members have committed to spending $85 million on election efforts.
“The way to revive the economy over the long-term is to elect Barack Obama on November 4,” said Anna Burger, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer. “Sen. Obama’s agenda of healthcare for all, investment in American jobs, and tax cuts for the middle class addresses the underlying issues that have weakened our economy. George W. Bush and John McSame don’t have a plan to fix this crisis and don’t understand the economic concerns of working people.”
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
