AFL-CIO mobilizing veterans to oppose McCain

WASHINGTON -- The AFL-CIO is mobilizing union members who are military veterans to work against Republican presidential candidate John McCain and other office seekers it opposes, officials said Thursday.

John Sweeney, the president of the labor federation, planned to announce the creation of a Union Veterans Council in a teleconference Thursday. The union, which endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president last month, plans to form state councils of union veterans in key election battlegrounds, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Ohio and West Virginia. Later, it plans to organize in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Virginia.

"We're forming this Union Veterans Council to bring together union members who are veterans to speak out on the issues that matter the most to them -- in this year's election and beyond," Sweeney said in a statement. "With the formation of the Union Veterans Council, veterans will be front and center in the effort to put our country back on track."

Sweeney said key issues will include money for the Veterans Affairs Department, health and education benefits for veterans, and job growth.

The union also launched an ad that will air Thursday that features a Vietnam combat veteran criticizing McCain's stance on the war in Iraq and on veterans issues. The ad will air for three weeks on national cable and in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, union officials said.

The outreach effort will include door-to-door canvassing and visits to worksites by veterans to talk to union members about issues in the election. The union also plans to identify and track union veterans.

The AFL-CIO estimates it has 2.1 million members who are either veterans or are serving in active duty in the military.

Sweeney was expected to make the announcement with Mark Ayers, the president of the Building & Construction Trades Council and a former Navy pilot.

"Not only has McCain voted the wrong way on veterans issues -- such as opposing increased funding for veterans' health care the last four years in a row -- but he also doesn't support middle-class people's issues," Ayers said in a statement. "He wants to tax people's health care benefits and supports unfair trade deals, including NAFTA."