Metro East election rally set for Sept. 15

Collinsville, IL – Metro-East unions will hold a major election rally here on Sept. 15 to support Labor-backed candidates in the Nov. 7 election.

Talks are still in progress to line up some well-known speakers, but the time and place are set – noon to 3 p.m. at Caseyville VFW Park, 415 N. Long St.

“Bring your family, friends and neighbors to enjoy free refreshments and meet many of the great Labor-endorsed candidates running in the November election,” the event flyer says. “Join us to support the rights of working families in Illinois.”

Totsie Bailey, executive secretary-treasurer of the Southwestern Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council, told council delegates last week it is crucial for Metro East unions to get their members and supporters to turn out and involved in the election.

“We need to have everybody we can get to show up to this thing,” Bailey said. “We’ve got to talk to our members. We’ve got to get them to vote.”

Last week’s overwhelming defeat of Prop A (“right-to-work”) in Missouri shows that working people will vote in their best interests when they understand what’s at stake, Bailey noted.

“We’ve got to get our people’s minds right and help them understand they have to vote unless they want to lose everything.”