Democratic presidential candidates met working families Aug. 7 at the AFL-CIO Presidential Candidates Forum in Chicago. With some 17,000 union members and families, the crowd showed that working men and women are deeply concerned about the future of the country and just as excited about the chance to choose the next president.
Working men and women asked the candidates questions focusing on issues that affect the daily lives of working families—from jobs and wages to health care, retirement, education and Iraq. Some of the questions were submitted and selected by visitors to the AFL-CIO's Working Families Vote 2008 website. Union members submitted more than 2,000 questions.
Presidential candidates have submitted video opening statements to MSNBC. You can view those statements .
The entire debate can be viewed online at . A full transcript is available . You also can read our coverage and analysis at the AFL-CIO Now blog.
The presidential forum, the seven AFL-CIO townhall meetings with presidential candidates that preceded it and the interactive Working Families Vote 2008 website are part of the AFL-CIO's work to involve union members in selecting America's next president and to ensure that the candidates are hearing working families' concerns. As another part of that effort, the AFL-CIO sent working family issues questionnaires to all major candidates for the presidency, Republicans and Democrats. Seven Democratic candidates have responded. Questionnaires are online here. The AFL-CIO has not endorsed a presidential candidate.
