(The BLET Pennsylvania State Legislative Board issued the following news release on October 29.)
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Following Theresa Heinz Kerry’s recent visit to Central Pennsylvania, Ken Kertesz, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Board of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and spokesman for “Teamsters for Kerry,” says that the final days before the November 2 election may be the most important for his campaign.
According to Kertesz, Senator Kerry’s policies and beliefs are more consistent with those of labor groups than President Bush. “It’s obvious that John Kerry is the right candidate for America’s working families,” he said. “We are impressed with Senator Kerry’s track record of voting in support of labor initiatives. He will fight for important issues like security, fair wages, and affordable health care.”
Kertesz and the Teamsters will be participating in “Get-Out-The-Vote” labor walks with the AFL-CIO at different locations throughout the state, including Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Erie starting on Saturday, October 30 and continuing until Election Day.
“We are making our last push,” Kertesz said. “This election will certainly come down to the wire, but our numbers are looking really good.”
Kertesz was selected to serve as a Pennsylvania Captain for the “Teamsters for Kerry” campaign. “I was honored to be selected to work Pennsylvania. “This has given me an excellent opportunity to meet with my brothers and sisters in labor across the state.”
On Wednesday, October 27, Theresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry, appeared in front of a lively audience at a Get-Out-The-Vote rally at the AFSCME Union Hall. Mrs. Heinz Kerry, a Pennsylvania resident, spoke on issues important to labor including health care and wages.
Joined by Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll and Bill George, President of the PA AFL-CIO, Mrs. Heinz-Kerry addressed a crowd of more than 200 people consisting largely of union representatives from ASCME, Teamsters, the Sheet Metal Workers, Fire Fighters, IUPAT, SEIU and other laborers supporting Senator Kerry for President.
The PA AFL-CIO has made an extraordinary effort with their “Get-Out-The-Vote” campaign in the Commonwealth. Since Labor Day, they have made 800,000 phone calls, 300,000 door-to-door visits, and have distributed more than 5 million brochures. The hard work is starting to pay off; John Kerry is ahead in the most recent AFL-CIO Labor 2004 poll.
Representing 50,000 active and retired members, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Ken Kertesz also serves as a Vice President for the PA AFL-CIO.
For more information regarding this news release, please contact Nathan Pigott at 717-975-2148 or npigott@hersheyphilbin.com. For more information regarding the PA State Legislative Board of the BLE, please visit www.pslb-blet.org.