NKY unions to McConnell: 'Remember who you Represent'

EDITOR'S NOTE: Click here to see video coverage of the action.

By BERRY CRAIG

AFT Local 1360

A Thursday rain shower failed to stay about 50 union men, women and family members from their appointed rounds outside Sen. Mitch McConnell's Fort Wright field office.

"The weather was bad, but the energy was high," said Liles Taylor, Kentucky State AFL-CIO political coordinator. "We had a great response from folks who drove by. We were just disappointed that again we were unable to have a meaningful conversation with our senior senator's office on the importance of passing the HEROES Act and what it means for Kentucky's working families, state and local government and the economy of Kentucky."  

The crowd assembled along busy Dixie Highway, attracting the attention of motorists by holding signs, most them homemade on high visibility yellowish-green cardboard. Hand-printed messages included: "Working families are not the enemy," "Remember who you Represent" and "NKY needs more jobs. Increase Infrastructure spending."

Some members of the crowd went inside to McConnell's office and rang the doorbell. "For a long time they didn't answer," Taylor said. "Finally, a woman answered and said, 'Sorry, I'm on a conference call. If you give me your contact information, we'll have someone call you back.'" 

The gathering was part of a statewide effort sponsored by the Kentucky AFL-CIO. The idea was "to take our concerns over his unwillingness to provide the support that working families need right now to his doorstep by having a day of action and have our members, community supporters and unemployed workers to go directly to McConnell’s offices across Kentucky," said Bill Londrigan, state AFL-CIO president.

Londrigan said the visits to McConnell's field offices were also designed to "let him and his staff know that Kentuckians want him to do the right thing and extend the federal UI benefit of $600.00 as well as the other key elements contained in the Heroes Act, such as infrastructure funding, funding for state and local governments, mortgage relief, OSHA workplace safety and health standards, mortgage and rent relief, support for the USPS and so much more."

Similar actions took place at McConnell's office in Paducah on Thursday, in Lexingtonearlier this month and in Louisville in June.