McCaskill Statement On Support From Organized Labor

McCaskill Statement On Support From Organized Labor

October 05, 2005

Saint Louis -- In response to the strong show of support for her campaign voiced today by members of the St. Louis Labor Council, Building and Construction Trades, and the Change to Win Coalition, U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill issued the following statement:

At a time when pocketbook fairness and middle class values are under attack from out of touch Washington politicians, it is crucial that working men and women have a true advocate in the Senate, someone who will listen and give voice to their concerns. They do not have that advocate right now, but I want to change that, which is why it is both humbling and uplifting that the working men and women of organized labor have joined together today to express their support for my campaign.

Just a few weeks ago, I announced my candidacy, pledging to restore common sense to Washington. And there are few places where common sense has been more lacking than in the way Washington politicians like Jim Talent have treated working families. They throw billions in tax breaks at big businesses that are already making billions in profits but they oppose a minimum wage increase to help working men and women who are barely able to feed their own families. That defies common sense.

I was raised to believe that we are a country that values work. But I don't believe that Washington politicians value our workers when they vote to pay them a wage that keeps them below the poverty line. And I don't believe they value workers when they try to eliminate overtime pay and worker protections.

We need a change, and with the help of the working men and women here and all across the state, we will win this campaign and restore common sense and middle class values to Washington.

http://www.claireonline.com/pressRelease.jsp?key=188&t=