Hoyer, other representatives urge union leaders to vote Democratic

The Building and Construction Trades Department held the first of its three-day 100th annual Legislative Conference with over 3,000 union leaders from around the country. President Mark Ayers addressed the crowd and introduced guest speakers, urging the audience to support whichever Democratic candidate becomes the presidential nominee and ignore the “shameless distortions, falsehoods, and fear-mongering” of the “conservative political playbook.” He claimed that “the America we know and love, the America we have and will defend, deserves better than John McCain.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) called on unions to organize for the benefit of the American middle class, citing that union membership is at its lowest since the Great Depression. He advocated inclusion of prevailing wage provisions in the Davis Bacon Act, and emphasized his approval for Congress’s recent $168 billion economic stimulus package but said he would push for more action if it proved inadequate. He also asked the crowd to stand up if they felt they were better off than they were seven years ago, and no one stood. On this note, he urged the crowd to work together to elect a candidate who would work for change.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) also addressed the crowd, and claimed that “this administration has screwed American laborers” and said that she voted against the economic stimulus package because she did not believe it was an adequate solution. Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) spoke to the crowd about the need to cross party lines in order to support unions and laborers.