The AFL-CIO will host a national working families Democratic presidential forum in Chicago on August 5th in conjunction with the AFL-CIO’s Executive Council meeting there. Bob Edwards, host of NPR’s Morning Edition, will moderate the forum. Questions from rank-and-file workers will shape the direction of this lively forum among the nine Democratic candidates and raise issues central to working families’ lives.

“America needs a leader who plans to put the needs and concerns of working men and women front and center,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “This forum will help our members decide who best represents working people’s interests as the unions of the AFL-CIO prepare to undertake an unprecedented mobilization effort for the 2004 elections.”

The forum will be held from 8:00 – 9:30 p.m. E.T. (7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Central Time) at Chicago’s Navy Pier. C-Span will provide live coverage of the event.

In addition, hundreds of local union groups will come together in “watch parties” in union halls and homes in cities across the nation to view the event and gain a comparative look at the candidates.

President Bush has been invited to speak before the AFL-CIO Executive Council.

The AFL-CIO Executive Council will discuss next steps in the labor movement’s Presidential endorsement process on Wednesday following the Tuesday forum in Chicago.

The AFL-CIO is the umbrella organization for America’s unions, representing 13 million working men and women across the nation.

         Reporters and cameras should call the AFL-CIO at 202-637-5018 in advance to register their attendance. (A separate logistics advisory will provide further details of the event.)

Contact Lane Windham or Suzanne Ffolkes 202-637-5018