Published: September 01, 2008 10:50 pm         

Long Thompson, Ellsworth focus on middle class, economy at Central Labor Council awards banquet

TERRE HAUTE — Jill Long Thompson told about 200 audience members in attendance at Monday evening’s annual Wabash Valley Central Labor Council awards banquet that the rebuilding of a strong middle class will require the efforts of organized labor.

Long Thompson, the Democratic candidate for governor, and Congressman Brad Ellsworth, who is seeking his second term in the 8th Congressional District of Indiana, were featured speakers at Monday’s event.

Long Thompson said, “I come from a 100 percent union household … I believe that you cannot have a strong economy without a strong middle class, and you cannot have a strong middle class without a strong organized labor movement,” which elicited cheers and applause in the banquet hall.

The gubernatorial candidate favors reinstating collective bargaining rights for state employees, she said.

Additionally, Long Thompson talked about her goals for the state:

• “The No. 1 issue is the economy,” she said. “We have the second-highest business bankruptcy rate in the country here in Indiana; the unemployment rate has gone up 2 percentage points since [Gov.] Mitch Daniels took office, and we are at the top of the list when it comes to our increase in the unemployment rate; the unemployment insurance trust fund has dropped to a very frighteningly low level.”

• “Economic development is not a program,” Long Thompson said. “It is an ongoing, long-term commitment to creating an economic climate that sets us apart from other states and other places around the world.”

• “I’m sure many of you can remember when Indiana was a place that stood out – I grew up in northern Whitley County on a farm in the heart of the auto industry, right down the road from the steel industry, and we were the place where you could find a job, and people moved here for the jobs because you could make enough money to put savings away for your children’s college education and money away for your retirement, and that’s no longer the case,” Long Thompson said.

Long Thompson said the way she intends to help create jobs across the state is to (1) reform the tax structure to help local businesses and families while stopping “giveaways to companies that stay for five or 10 years and then leave us in the lurch;” (2) improve health insurance: “The price and quality of your health insurance shouldn’t be determined by the size of your business or employer,” she said, adding that she favors a “pooling” option that would allow employees access to better policies; (3) reform the education policy, including reforming No Child Left Behind, and reinvesting in vocational education to increase high school graduation rates; and (4) “Stop the privatization madness of Mitch Daniels,” she said.

The candidate’s comments were met with enthusiastic applause and cheers.

Bill Treash, president of the Wabash Valley Central Labor Council, urged the 26 local unions in the area to start “Get Out the Vote” campaigns to elect candidates for working men and women.

Ellsworth, who was attending his fourth annual Central Labor Council awards banquet, spoke at the end, saying, “How do we work together to keep these jobs here so that we all can improve our lives, and do what we were taught to do – work hard, and you will be rewarded?”

Deb Kelly can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.kelly@tribstar.com.