Berry Craig, recording secretary for the Paducah-based Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council and a professor of history at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, is a former daily newspaper and Associated Press columnist and currently a member of AFT Local 1360. Craig sends us this.

The hours are long but, says Kentucky United Steelworkers (USW) member Chris Ormes, “I'm loving it. I'm at ground zero, and that's where I want to be."

Ormes, 37, president of USW Local 1241 in Bardstown, Ky., says ground zero is Ohio. The state's electoral votes likely will decide who wins the presidential election. He is a foot soldier in a small army of union volunteers who are toiling 12- and even 14-hour days to help President Obama take the Buckeye State.

AFL-CIO Field Communications staffer Cathy Sherwin sends us this report.

Fed up with inaction and partisan-political game playing in Washington, Kentuckians gathered in Louisville to call upon Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell to stop the partisan politics and pass a budget that works for all working families, not just millionaire CEOs. They called out their senator for putting the 2012 elections ahead of the needs of his own constituents who would be impacted by deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

In the upcoming budget debate, congressional Republicans have said they are more than willing to trade off huge cuts to programs that are vital to working families—especially to women and children—such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other key family helping programs in exchange for tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy.

Back when flight attendants were stewardesses and airline ads promoted their good looks and winsome smiles to get you on board, these hardworking airline employees had no job safety and health protection.  Today, flight attendants still are not covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and most of his Republicans colleagues want to keep it that way, just like the old days.