Walk A Day In My Shoes"Workers Reunited with Presidential Candidates Today at Political Action Conference in DC

Washington, DC - Members of the nation's fastest-growing union will be reunited today with the presidential candidate who "walked a day in their shoes" at SEIU's Member Political Action Conference.  In addition to speaking to close to 2,000 SEIU members from 35 states, the presidential candidates will meet informally with a smaller group of SEIU members as part of their "hang time."

Workers from the "Walk A Day In My Shoes"program met each other for the first time last night and shared dinner together in advance of their reunions with the presidential candidates.  They compared stories of being joined on the job and at home by presidential contenders and discussed how their experiences affected them, their co-workers, and the candidates.

"Through Walk A Day In Our Shoes and other actions, our members have played an unprecedented role in this election,"said SEIU Secretary Treasurer Anna Burger, who, along with SEIU President Andy Stern, participated in the dinner.  "So often politicians are insulated from the people they want to represent, but workers are making their voices heard and sending the strong message that we need a president who will stand with them."

Joining the conversation were members who had walked a day with Senator Edwards, Governor Richardson, Senator Dodd, Senator Obama, Senator Clinton, and Senator Biden.  All of those candidates, except for Biden, will spend more time with SEIU members today during MPAC.

SEIU members challenged presidential candidates from both parties to walk a day in their shoes to see firsthand the challenges faced by working families.  In addition to the six Democratic candidates who accepted the challenge, Republican Governor Mike Huckabee is scheduled to participate with corrections officer Roy Brill in New Hampshire in the coming weeks.

Additional media contact:  Stephanie Mueller, 202-256-0833

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