“We Need to Change Direction”

October 23, 2008

This ad appeared in Tuesday's USA Today.

AFSCME International Vice President and Ohio AFL-CIO President Joe Rugola continues to call attention to the devastating effects of the Bush-McCain economic policies in his state – one step at a time. This week, Rugola set out on the second leg of his 300-mile “Road to Recovery” walk which is taking him to shuttered plants and factories where more than 180,000 jobs have been lost over the last eight years. A full-page ad sponsored by AFSCME appeared in Tuesday's USA Today, highlighting the walk and the need for new leadership in the White House to fix the economy and rebuild the middle class. On Wednesday, the tour stopped at Meridian Automotive Systems in Jackson, Ohio, where union members were locked out in 2006 and many saw their jobs moved out of the country. Rugola talked about what he’s seen and why he’s determined to keep walking.

What we’ve seen is more small towns and more cities that have been devastated by these plant and mine closings, and it just makes us more determined to keep going. Hopefully we can influence a few votes for November 4th, get people thinking about the fact that we need to change direction in this country and that Barack Obama gives us the best chance to do that.

Watch a video clip from yesterday’s walk on YouTube, and read more on the AFL-CIO Now blog and the Buckeye State Blog. For continued updates on the journey, visit the Ohio AFL-CIO website.

Paid for by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees PEOPLE (1625 L St, NW, Washington, DC 20036) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.