| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 14, 2000 |
|
|
Working Women Making Political History Delegate Profile: Luvenia Carr; Democratic Delegate Since 1960 Luvenia Carr is a living testament to the power of grassroots activism. She has worked a lifetime fighting to improve the quality of life in her community and for workers' rights on the job through her union. Today, Luvenia is one of the 5,000 delegates to the Democratic Convention where she will help nominate the party's nominee for President. This is Luvenia's eleventh Democratic convention. She was first elected as a party delegate to the 1960 convention, and has participated in grassroots organizing for minority rights and other Los Angeles community campaigns for more than 40 years. Ms. Carr is a political and union activist. She worked at Clark Drug Store in Los Angeles for more than 25 years and was an active member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 770. A true "cashier mom," Luvenia now works full time serving union members as a representative and a political activist. "This convention is just as exciting as my first convention in 1960. I'm just as excited about nominating Al Gore as I was about John Kennedy?and the issues are just as important," said Ms. Carr. Mary Tapia-Barthel is on the convention floor with Luvenia because she shares a commitment to electing a President that stands with working women. Mary, whose parents immigrated from Mexico, has worked at a Jewel Food Store in Schaumburg, Illinois for more than 30 years. She is a union activist and a political activist because she knows first hand the importance of protecting working women on the job. "Social Security is more than a retirement program?it's a family-protection program. My co-worker sadly lost her husband earlier this year. Thank goodness that social security is there to help her raise their children. Al Gore is the only Presidential candidate working women can trust to protect Social Security and protect our families," said Mary Tapia- Barthel. She continued, "I'm a working mom just like millions of women in this country. That's why George Bush scares me?he would risk my families' future with his Social Security scheme." The 1.4 million-member UFCW is America's neighborhood union with over 900,000 members working in local supermarkets in nearly every area of the country. Another 250,000 UFCW members working in packing and food processing put dinner on the table for America's families. Almost 100,000 UFCW members working in nursing homes and hospitals tend for the sick and elderly. UFCW members are the core voters who decide elections. Extensive polling of UFCW members has identified the issues that move the key demographic groups. Social Security was identified as the number one issue across age and gender lines. The UFCW can provide the media with delegates and non-delegates, including young workers, to talk about the issues.
|
|
 |
 |
