For Immediate Release
Monday, August 12, 2002
AFSCME Retirees Throw Support and People Behind Maryland Gubernatorial Candidate Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Baltimore, MD —More than 400 Maryland retirees from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, will put retirement on hold for the next 13 weeks to volunteer in the gubernatorial campaign of Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.
Maryland Retiree Chapter 1 will meet with Lt. Governor Townsend on Tuesday, August 13, at 1:00 p.m., for a special "meet and greet" luncheon. Members of the chapter will work to get out the vote for Lt. Governor Townsend and other pro-working families candidates as campaigns kick-off across the state.
"Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is a woman who has devoted herself to this state and its well-being," said AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee. "Your lieutenant governor has sent out many ripples of hope while serving you and the rest of the people of Maryland. She has given us hope by supporting collective bargaining, by not just demanding a minimum wage, but by demanding a living wage and dedicating herself to preserving Social Security."
Lt. Governor Townsend is also credited with working with Governor Parris Glendening to ensure that 40,000 seniors in Maryland receive state support to get needed mediation at affordable prices and has promised to work for a national program that puts the needs of seniors before drug company profits.
