Today, John Edwards began his trip, walking the walk on the Road to One America Tour.
Part 1 - The Road to One America
Unfortunately, many of us cannot follow along in reality, but the John Edwards campaign has allowed us to follow along with this interactive road map! To get up to the minute updates on day 1 of the tour, including blog, summary, and pictures, go to the campaign's webpage dedicated to day 1. Other information including pictures, blogs, and even phone text messages which can be signed up for by texting TOUR to 30644 or by signing up for them at this webpage.
On "Road To One America" Tour, Edwards Unveils New Initiatives To Reward Work
Canton, Mississippi - On the first day of Senator John Edwards' three-day "Road to One America" tour, Edwards unveiled new initiatives to respect and reward low-wage workers. The initiatives include protecting workers from routine abuses of minimum wage, overtime, and safety laws through a new taskforce and guaranteeing sick leave so workers who are sick or need to take their child to the emergency room will not lose their job. Today's new initiatives build on Edwards' past efforts to create opportunities for rewarding work, including a higher minimum wage, tax cuts for low-income families, stronger unions, and stepping-stone jobs for willing workers unable to find jobs on their own."Past anti-poverty efforts have failed to create enough opportunities for people to work their way out of poverty and into the middle class," Edwards said. "We will never end poverty until we create more opportunities for people to earn enough to support themselves and their families. We need to put our economy back in line with our values by making it possible to work hard and build a better life."
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For more details on Edwards' plan to reward work, please click here for the fact sheet.
The Road to One America: Building One America Starts in New Orleans
Tracy Russo
7/15/2007 at 6:07 PM EST...
In New Orleans, Senator Edwards will unveil his three-point plan to rebuild the city. The plan seeks to address the question of recovery with a focus on rebuilding infrastructure, creating jobs and keeping the city safe from future storms and rising crime.
Rebuild: The rebuilding of infrastructure in New Orleans is stalled. The city needs new hospitals, clinics, schools and roads. John Edwards will call for building a new Veterans' hospital downtown, call on the VA to stop delaying site selection and choose downtown New Orleans, and then fast-track the design process so construction can begin. He will also propose building a 21st century infrastructure, integrating new housing, and preserving livable housing.
Create: Edwards believes we need to create good jobs in New Orleans. He will propose hiring 50,000 Gulf Coast residents to fill stepping stone jobs dedicated to rebuilding infrastructure that will help local and returning residents gain skills and experience. He will also protect workers from contractor exploitation.
Protect: Finally, Edwards believes we need to protect the city and the region from weather and crime. As president, Edwards will do whatever is necessary to ensure that Katrina never happens again, including building stronger levees and restoring coastal wetlands. Following Katrina, New Orleans has experienced an epidemic in violence. Edwards will strengthen public safety to end the epidemic of crime and violence.
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For more details on John Edwards' plan to rebuild New Orleans, check out this fact sheet.
Part 2 - AND THEY'RE OFF!
The Road to One America: The Lower 9th Ward
Tracy Russo
7/16/2007 at 9:36 AM ESTYesterday John unveiled his plan to rebuild New Orleans. He took a walking tour with community leaders in the Lower 9th Ward and visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology.
Check out this video from the road:
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This morning, John will continue the Road to One America tour with additional stops in New Orleans, a visit to Arkansas, and two stops in Mississippi.
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Edwards: 'Make Work Pay' to End Poverty from ABC
...On "GMA," Edwards was asked to share one solution to eliminating poverty.
"If I had to pick just one, it would be to make work pay," Edwards said.
Three ways to do that, Edwards said, are to raise the national minimum wage, increase the earned income tax credit and allow workers to organize unions and collectively bargain for better wages.
But can a wealthy candidate live among the privileged and really care about poverty?
Edwards, the son of a textile worker who was the first in his family to go to college, got rich as a successful trial lawyer. Though he has garnered attention recently for large payouts from a hedge fund after he left office, he suggested that his rise to great wealth from more humble beginnings gave him a unique perspective.
"If you look at the arc of my life, I came from very little to having a lot. I'm very proud of that," Edwards said.
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Video from the GMA Town Hall:
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The Road to One America: Kingsley House & Cafe Reconcile
Tracy Russo
7/16/2007 at 12:34 PM ESTFollowing this morning's GMA Town Hall, John made his way to Kingsley House.
Kingsley House was founded in 1896. Since that time it has been a safe haven for the children and families of New Orleans.
Since 2005, Kingsley House has stepped up as a saving grace to thousands of families who were victim to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. After sustaining $3.5 million in damage to their buildings and grounds from the hurricane, Kingsley House rebuilt and became even more focused on their mission of "educating children, strengthening families, building community." Kingsley House now serves as an essential resettlement and recovery center for thousands in Southeastern Louisiana.
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Following their visit to Kingsley House, John and Elizabeth stopped at Café Reconcile where they met with dozens of young people who are part of their training program for at-risk youth.
From the Café Reconcile describes their mission:
In 1996, under the leadership of the late Rev. Harry Tompson, S.J., a group of concerned people of faith gathered together to began a course of prayer, study, research, observation and dialogue regarding the witnessed challenges facing out-of-school youth in New Orleans. The newspapers, police reports, television news, research and personal experiences all pointed to a multitude of young lives spiraling into destructive and violent behaviors.
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The Road to One America: Canton, Mississippi
Tracy Russo
7/16/2007 at 6:03 PM ESTCanton is one of the many Delta towns in Mississippi dominated by the poultry processing industry, one of the most dangerous and poorly rewarded industrial jobs in America. Poultry plant workers face many challenges including low-wages, a lack of health care and employers that have increasingly violate legal protections, such as minimum wage and hour laws, and misclassify employees as independent contractors in order to strip them of basic protections. These conditions fail to reward hard work and make it unnecessarily difficult for hardworking Americans to prosper. It's a problem that isn't limited to the poultry industry or the Mississippi Delta. Across America people work full time and still live in poverty.
In Canton, Mississippi, John and Elizabeth met with workers from the Peco Poutry Plant and listened to their stories.
From the road, John Davis writes in:
One woman spoke of the back-breaking work they do at the plant and what it was like to work in those conditions while pregnant. Other workers spoke about having their time on the clock shaved or not getting paid for overtime. It's not right and it's why we have to address these problems.
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The Road to One America: Marks, Mississippi
Ben Brandzel
7/16/2007 at 7:27 PM ESTThis afternoon John and the One America tour moved on to Marks, Mississippi. You don't have to tell anyone in Marks that poverty is still a problem in America--1 out of every 3 people here live below the poverty line. In fact, the people of Marks have a great deal to tell the rest of the country about their struggle for economic fairness, and they have been fighting to be heard for decades.
Martin Luther King came to this town in 1968 to launch his Poor People's March. Though Dr. King was assassinated before the march could reach Washington, over 7,000 people continued all the way to the capital.
And now a new generation is ready to sound the call to justice from these same streets in Marks, Mississippi--ready to continue the great journey towards justice that Martin Luther King began....
Today John also spoke with Sam McCray, another long time local activist who participated in the Poor People's March in 1968. He met with Sonya Murphy, who led 40 members of ACORN from Jackson on a 3 hour drive to join the One America tour. He was introduced at a small gathering by Steve Simmons, who spoke powerfully about his struggles as a low-wage hospital worker without health insurance.
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They are still sending updates to http://www.johnedwards.com and you again can see updates at the blog, at the interactive road map, or at to the campaign's webpage dedicated to day 1. More information and pictures will be available for the Marks, Mississippi, West Helena, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee later.
Part 3 - The Media on Edwards and Poverty
Edwards starts 8-state poverty tour in N.O. from USA Today
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards blamed President Bush and the federal government for this city's slow recovery from Hurricane Katrina as he launched an eight-state campaign tour focused on fighting poverty."He made the people of New Orleans a very specific promise that has not been met," Edwards said, referring to Bush's promise soon after the August 2005 storm that the city would be rebuilt.
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People living on the streets are only part of the poverty problem in America, Edwards said. "A huge portion of the people who live in poverty in this country work every day, work all the time," he said.
Solving that problem involves "making work pay" by raising the minimum wage, perhaps linking periodic minimum wage hikes to inflation, and making it easier for workers to unionize and gain better pay through collective bargaining, he said.
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Part 4 - Have a Great Evening! Stay Tuned for Tomorrow is Day 2!
See more pictures here.
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