The A.F.L.-C.I.O., which endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president last month, announced on Tuesday that it would begin sending fliers to union members to dispel what it says are false rumors about him.þThe labor federation said it would mail fliers to more than 600,000 union members in four battleground states — Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — telling them that Mr. Obama is not a Muslim and often wears a flag pin on his lapel.þOne flier, with the headline, “Straight Answers to Real Questions,” states: “A lot of unfair, false rumors are being spread. Here are the answers to some of the honest questions you may have about Barack Obama.”þWith regard to the widespread belief that Mr. Obama is Muslim, the flier states, “He is a committed Christian. In 1985, he began working as a community organizer with a Christian church-based group.” Below a photo of Mr. Obama being sworn in, the flier states, “Barack Obama took the oath of office on his personal family bible. It was Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, who was sworn in on the Koran.”þAs for rumors that Senator Obama was not born in America, the flier points out that he was born in Honolulu. þThe flier also addresses this question: “Does he place his hand over his heart when he says the pledge?” The flier answers, “Yes, Barack Obama always places his hand over his heart during the pledge of allegiance.”þThe flier gives footnotes to back each of its answers, with one pointing to a Washington Post piece explaining that a photo that showed Mr. Obama without a hand on his heart, while Senator Hillary Clinton and Gov. Bill Richardson had their right hand over their heart was taken while the national anthem was being played, and not while they were saying the pledge of allegiance.þþThe flier also poses the question: “Does he wear a flag pin on his lapel?” The answer it gives is, “Yes, but not always. Like many presidential candidates, sometimes he wears a flag pin, sometimes he wears a breast cancer awareness pin, sometimes he wears his U.S. Senate membership pin and other times he wears no pin at all.”þOn one side of the flier is a photo of two burly union members from Dayton, Ohio, Shaun Blanton and Tom Pietrzak, and next to them is the caption, “Everyone knows it’s time for a change, but people have questions about Barack Obama. There are some things we’d like to know.”þThe A.F.L.-C.I.O., a federation of 56 unions representing 10 million workers, said the mailing would be targeted to “union swing voters” in battleground states. The federation said, “The mailers are the leading edge of massive campaign in August to clearly define Sen. Obama among millions of union voters.”þThe A.F.L.-C.I.O. is also sending out an issue-oriented flier to the more than 600,000 union members in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and one Wisconsin. In it, Bill Schultz, a retired teacher, saying, “I’m voting for the candidate who will protect American jobs.” The flyer says: “Barack Obama will fight to save American jobs. Obama opposed trade deals like Nafta that ship good paying jobs overseas.”þThe flier also quotes Fran Benso, a member of the Communications Workers of America, saying, “I’m voting for the candidate who will fix our health care system.”þThe flier then says, “Obama’s health care plan will provide guaranteed eligibility, affordable premiums and quality care. He believes every American should have a health care plan as good as members of Congress.”þThe campaign of Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has criticized Mr. Obama for attacking Nafta and for waffling about whether he supports free trade. The McCain campaign has also criticized Mr. Obama’s health proposals, saying they would make big government even bigger and would cost the nation hundreds of billions of dollars when its federal budget deficit is already soaring. þThe A.F.L.-C.I.O. said it would seek to mobilize union members and their families in 24 states overall, focusing on some 13 million people — union members, union retirees, and their family members.þIn an additional effort, an A.F.L.C.I.O. affiliate, Working America, says it is reaching out to its nearly 2.5 million members, people who are not union members, but support organized labor on many issues. Working America says it has more than 160 canvassers knocking on doors each day in Ohio to discuss numerous issues, including trade policy and health care. Working America says it has 800,000 members just in Ohioþ
Source: NY Times
