Union Members Greet McCain in Washington by Seth Michaels, Apr 9, 2008   AFL-CIO.

Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) held a pricey fundraiser at a top-notch Washington, D.C., hotel, just yards from the White House. As he has in similar events across the country, he was met by AFL-CIO union members out to set the record straight.

More than 80 union members from the Washington, D.C., area held signs, chanted and marched outside the expensive Willard Intercontinental hotel as the fundraiser began. As we rallied, we were joined by a family of tourists, whose children (at left) took part, marching with signs and helping convey a clear message: In a time of job loss and economic recession, McCain isn’t offering the solutions working families need. On issue after issue, the protestors agree with what McCain himself has admitted: He’s the McSame as Bush.

While we marched outside, corporate lobbyists gathered inside. Among the 43 hosts of McCain’s fundraiser, 35 were registered lobbyists.

For all his talk of reform, McCain is the definition of a Washington insider. It’s not just his funders who are lobbyists—it’s his actual campaign staff. McCain’s new mid-Atlantic campaign manager is just the latest high-priced lobbyist to hop on board.

Jos Williams, the president of the Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO, spoke at the event, directing his message for McCain and his corporate contributors:

We are foot soldiers in a march to turn around America. You can run, but you can’t hide from America’s working men and women. Wherever you go, we will be there to tell the American people what you do and don’t stand for.

Williams says McCain’s record on jobs, trade, housing and more makes him the wrong choice for America.

We say no to four more years of Bush, Cheney and McCain.

__From the AFL-CIO web-blog________________________________