Economy is focus at Labor Day event

More than 10,000 people packed Harriet Island Monday to hear Democratic Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards and others issue the call for a U.S. economy that protects workers and creates more jobs that pay well and provide decent benefits.

Drawn by Edwards? appearance, a larger than usual crowd went to the downtown riverfront for the annual Labor Day celebration, sponsored by the St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly.

Wendy Meath, a Machinist who was laid off last December when Home Products, Inc., closed its Eagan operation and moved the jobs to Mexico, introduced Edwards. After months of trying to find work, she has enrolled in a community college to start a new career in the health care field.

?I love this country and I support our troops,? an emotional Meath told the crowd. ?But I don?t support those who question my patriotism when I disagree with them and tell them it?s wrong to outsource our jobs!?

When Edwards took the stage, he was greeted with cheers when he asked, ?Don?t Wendy and Americans like her deserve a president who will work for them??

Democratic Vice President candidate John Edwards acknowledged the cheers of the Labor Day crowd. Behind him at left is AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

Edwards outlined several ways he and presidential candidate John Kerry would help working people if they are elected. The list included eliminating tax breaks for corporations who take jobs overseas, raising the minimum wage and passing strong labor law reform legislation to protect the rights of workers seeking to join unions.

Edwards received some of the loudest applause when he pledged, ?The day John Kerry is sworn in as president, we?re going to reverse this overtime regulation George Bush has put in place and give you back your overtime.?

An estimated 8 million American workers lost their eligibility for overtime pay under regulations unilaterally implemented by Bush?s Labor Department Aug. 23.

National AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, traveling with Edwards during the Labor Day weekend, said the Kerry-Edwards ticket offers the best hope for a better economy. Some 14 million Americans are jobless, he noted, and another 45 million lack health insurance, a condition he called ?outrageous.?

Speaker after speaker called on union members and supporters to discuss the issues with their co-workers, friends and family members and make sure they go to the polls. Numerous booths and tables on the picnic grounds offered opportunities for people to volunteer, sign petitions and register to vote.

Author and radio host Jim Hightower mixed humor with his suggestions.

Grab all your friends on Nov. 2, Election Day, he said, ?and bring your dog into the voting booth if you can.?

Added humorist Garrison Keillor, ?We?re going to listen to our Republican friends and sympathize with them. Through our sympathy and kindness we?re going to lure them in our direction.?

Keillor then led the crowd in singing ?America the Beautiful? and urged everyone to vote ?for love of this country.?

Della Svenningsen of Minneapolis (above) danced to the Sounds of Blackness singing “Love Train” as daughter Alicia West, niece Jori Jefferson and son Qwmari West joined in. The famous green Wellstone bus (below) was one of many places that people could register to vote and get more information about the Nov. 2 election.

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