Obama addresses Machinists, blames McCain for outsourcing
Published 10:31 am Friday, September 12, 2008
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama addressed via satellite the Machinists at their national convention in Florida today. The senator from Illinois received the union’s endorsement on Monday. Obama made mention of the Boeing Machinists on strike here in the Puget Sound (and in Oregon and Kansas).
And Obama took the opportunity to talk about a subject important to Machinists: outsourcing. The presidential candidate threw in a few jabs at his opponent Republican nominee John McCain, regarding the Air Force tanker bid. From Obama’s speech:
John McCain just doesn’t get it.
Just ask your brothers and sisters at Boeing. Because while it was right for the Pentagon to cancel competition yesterday for the next generation of tankers, it was wrong for John McCain to reward two of the Washington lobbyists who worked against Boeing with jobs on his campaign. …
Just ask the workers across this country who have seen their jobs outsourced. The very companies that shipped their jobs overseas have been rewarded with billions of dollars in tax breaks that John McCain supports and plans to continue.
So when American workers hear John McCain talk about putting country first, it’s fair to ask – which country?
Read Obama’s full speech here.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers initially endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton. Earlier this week, the union made Clinton an honorary member of the IAM. Clinton is only the third honorary member named by the Machinists in past 60 years.
“We found a partner who never gave up, never gave in, never quit until the last vote was counted,” said Tom Buffenbarger, Machinists president. “We found a partner who fought like hell, was knocked down and refused to stay down. We found a Democratic leader who would fight for blue – collar families.”
Machinists, will Obama get your vote?
