Montgomery — On May 5, 2009, members of USW Locals 1013 and 2122 accompanied USW District 9 Rapid Response Coordinator Greg England to Montgomery to attend the ongoing legislative session and discuss the hot topic of extending unemployment benefits with some of our representatives. Attending from Local 1013 were David Clark, Jack Curren, Rick Youngblood, Marc Shields and Allen Nichols; from Local 2122, Robert Irwin and Walter Evans were present.
The group met with several representatives to solicit support for our fight to extend unemployment benefits an additional six months.
One big disappointment was Senator Steve French from District 15, which is made up of parts of Jefferson and Shelby counties. He flatly refused to consider support for the bill even though it is part of the stimulus package put forth by President Obama. Even when informing the Senator that we had over 600 members of our locals on layoff, the plea seemed to fall on deaf ears. Senator French appeared to be more concerned with party politics than our situation - something we would do well to remember come election time. A candidate who refuses to support our working families shouldn't get our support at the polls.
On a positive note, several Senators were very cordial to the group and took time from their schedule to welcome us and offer their support.
Local 1013 would like to thank Alabama AFL-CIO President Stuart Burkhalter, Alabama AFL-CIO Secretary Al Henley, UMWA International Vice President Daryl Dewberry, USW District 9 Rapid Response Coordinator Greg England, the brothers and sisters of Locals 2122 and 2210 and the other AFL-CIO affiliates that made our trip a success.
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©2009 USW Local 1013