On Route to Milwaukee from Detroit yesterday, Senator Obama stopped off in the town of Monroe, Michigan to speak to the the members of Local 671, the Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall.
The folks of Monroe have been hit with hard times recently, and Local 671, as well as the next door Local 723 -- the United Auto Workers -- have been dealing with plant closings and layoffs.
On a day when the country was watching Hurricane Gustav, Senator Obama reminded the attentive audience of 300 that we need to look at the "quiet storms" brewing in folks’ day-to-day lives. "We have to have an attitude that everyone is going to get shelter from the storm," said Barack.
Resident George Steel, one of the picnic attendees, said, "There's a lot of support here for Senator Obama."
"This means so much for us because we've just been hit so hard with layoffs. Our local government is suffererring from it, our schools are suffering from it."
The same sentiment was echoed by Monroe Mayor Mark Worrel, who is deeply concerned about the loss of industrial jobs in the county and the toll it’s taking on the community.
Mayor Worrel commented, "We have lived and died with heavy industry in this community, and if there is a part of America that is desperately hurting because of lack of jobs, it is certainly Southeast Michigan and Monroe. We just hope that Senator Obama is going to make a big difference in our lives."
En Route to Chicago,Peter RubiRoad Team
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