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Press
Release
May
25, 2004
Official
Bus Tour
Announcement
Reverend Jesse Jackson Announces Bus Tour With Labor And Non-Profit Leaders June 6- 9 Through Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania
Tour, Titled "Reinvest In America: Put America Back To Work!," Intended To Focus Tri-State Region's Attention On Jobs, Health Care and Education
Rev. Jesse Jackson announced today that he will conduct a bus tour through Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania June 6-9 to kick-off the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's new "Reinvest In America: Put America Back To Work!" campaign. Joining Jackson on the trip are tour Co-chairpersons Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), Gerald McEntee, President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Leo Gerard, President of the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), and Leon Lynch, Vice President of the USWA, and David Bradley, Executive Director of the National Community Action Foundation (NCAF).
"These are difficult times for America's working men and women," said Jackson in advance of the tour. "The well-paying jobs that built the American middle class continue to be outsourced to cheap foreign labor markets. Affordable healthcare is now out of reach for millions of Americans as corporations cut benefits and the federal government neglects its responsibility to ensure a healthy future for all citizens. The cost of higher education is soaring while funding for primary and secondary schools plummets. It's time to change the way America is doing business."
The "Reinvest in America: Put America Back to Work!" campaign represents a broad coalition of organizations that are joining together in this election year to focus attention on what matters most to American families and communities: well-paying jobs, affordable healthcare and quality education. The campaign begins with a bus tour through a particularly hard hit area of the country, the Appalachian region of western Pennsylvania, southeastern Ohio and all of West Virginia. Jackson, Roberts, Gerard, McEntee, Lynch and other leaders will travel through the region to call attention to the issues they believe all Americans must address now.
Cecil Roberts, President of the UMWA, said, "We will be reminding people about the marked loss of jobs in this region since the year 2000, including 4,000 coal mining jobs. We will also be promoting this area's need for more well-paying jobs, greater access to affordable and quality healthcare and improved opportunities for a quality education."
Statistics for the region paint a disturbing picture. Under the current Administration, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have lost a combined total of 334,000 manufacturing jobs. In West Virginia, 14% of the population lacks health insurance; 12% in Ohio; and 10% in Pennsylvania. (Facts and figures for each stop on the tour are available at www.reinvest-in-america.org).
The bus tour begins in Pittsburgh on June 6 with a rally at the downtown headquarters of the United Steelworkers of America. Following that event, the tour will stop in McClellandtown, PA; Weirton, WV; Parkersburg, WV; Athens, Ohio; Charleston, WV; Beckley, WV; ending with a rally on June 9 in Portsmouth, OH. (A current itinerary is included with this release. Full information and updates are available at www.reinvest-in-america.org).
David Bradley, Executive Director of the National Community Action Foundation (NCAF) observed, "Children are hungry, people who desire work are unemployed, and many are left without an education. They cannot be indifferent, so how can we? We want to give citizens a decent shot at a good life for themselves and their families--provide them with the opportunities they have struggled for--America owes them that."
The "Reinvest In America: Put America Back To Work!" campaign is sponsored by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition; United Mine Workers of America (UMWA); American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); United Steelworkers of America (USW); AFL-CIO; National Community Action Foundation (NCAF); International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (IUBAC); American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE); Communications Workers of America/International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers (CWA/IUE); and Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE).
"If we reinvest in America's infrastructure, we can put America back to work," Jackson added. "The vitality and growth of the steel and energy industries--and our workers--should be a matter of national security."
Roberts observed, "These are tough economic times for average American workers, and, like Rev. Jackson, the UMWA is committed to working to ensure that our issues do not take a backseat to the larger issues facing our nation as a whole. I encourage every working person in the areas we will visit to come out and show your support for putting America back to work."
TThe "Carpenter Ants," one of West Virginia's premiere bands, is also committed to the cause and will bring its unique blend of old style rhythm and blues, gospel, and country on the tour.
For information on the Reinvest In America: Put America Back To Work! Appalachian Bus Tour, visit www.reinvest-in-america.org.
During
the tour,
daily press
releases
and high
quality downloadable
pictures
will also
be available
at the website.
Reporters interested in riding on the bus for all or part or the tour should contact: George Korn 740-953-1130 or Judy Medley 703-208-7220
Rev. Jackson, Roberts, Bradley, and other tour participants will be available for pre-tour interviews, radio talk shows, etc. To set up an interview, contact George Korn 740-953-1130
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