The Texas AFL-CIO brought the manufactured home that earlier this year was offered to Gov. Rick Perry for lease for $1 a year to a Houston law firm, allowing freeway drivers to see the residence for themselves and read a related message on a nearby electronic billboard.

Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller, joined by Secretary-Treasurer John Patrick, noted that an application process for giving away the manufactured home is under way. The home will go to a Texas union family that has fallen on hard times.

Moeller's news conference statement is below.

 

 

 

Unions Families May Apply for a Spot in the Drawing for a Single-Wide Manufactured Home, Delivered to You in Texas

Gov. Rick Perry declined to take up the Texas AFL-CIO on an offer to lease him a manufactured home for $1 a year while he waits for the renovation of the gutted Governor’s Mansion in a rental mansion in a gated community 14 miles from the Capitol that has cost taxpayers more than $600,000.

Since then, the single-wide, olive-colored manufactured home has spent time on display in the Texas AFL-CIO parking lot, attended both state political conventions and is likely to make appearances in more venues over the summer.

Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller has announced that shortly after Labor Day, the state federation plans to donate the manufactured home to a Texas union family. Eligibility is limited to persons who are current union members, retirees or former union members who lost their jobs and/or suffered through a home foreclosure.

A panel of religious leaders will be convened to consider applications for the manufactured home. Using their best judgment, the panel will select up to 20 worthy entries and the final selection will be determined by a random drawing from among those entries. The result of the panel’s decision and subsequent drawing, to be conducted by officers of the Texas AFL-CIO, is final.

To enter, fill out the application, which asks for your name, a place and method of contact, and a 100-word statement on why you should receive the manufactured home. E-Mail the document to rickshouse@texasaflcio.org or mail a hard copy of the application to Rick’s House Drawing, Texas AFL-CIO, 1106 Lavaca St., Suite 200, Austin, TX 78701.

Deadline for entry is Friday, Sept. 10, 2010.

Volunteer to help Get Out the Vote at www.texaslabor2010.org .

Texas AFL-CIO Legislative/Political Director Rene Lara reports that the Texas AFL-CIO has launched a web site that will connect pro-labor activists with opportunities to help turn out like-minded voters in elections.

 

 

The following is the list of endorsements by the Texas AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education (COPE), which is the political arm of the state labor federation.

Delegates to the COPE Convention made endorsement decisions for statewide candidates. Endorsements of candidates for Congress, the Texas Legislature and the State Board of Education take place at the Central Labor Council level, and will be added here as they arrive. (Please note: Some Central Labor Councils do not endorse in uncontested races.)

“These endorsements set the stage for a campaign for change on Texas priorities,” Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller said. “The labor movement in Texas will do everything possible to alter the narrative for working families in Texas.”