Henderson woman shines light on jobless problems

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 | 10 a.m.

The bus took off and Nevada almost wasn't on it.

The bus is the red, white and blue "Show Us The Jobs" tour bus of 51 unemployed people from across the United States who will tell of their plight under the Bush administration.

The Nevadan on the bus is a woman who was an executive with a federally funded Las Vegas company that helped out-of-work people get jobs. That is, until nine months ago when the federal funding was pulled and the place closed.

Henderson resident Linda Miller, who was in St. Louis this morning to kick off the 18-city, eight-state, eight-day tour, said up until a few days ago she had no idea she would be sharing her story with Americans in similar situations.

"My son has a friend in the AFL-CIO (one of two sponsors on the tour, Working America is the other) and Nevada did not have a representative," she said early today via her cell phone, as she walked with a group of other unemployed Americans to the bus. "I said yes on Saturday and here I am.

"I decided to do it because President Bush says there are jobs to be had, yet he pulled the funding for my job that helped other people get jobs. I'm asking where are those jobs?"

In her 40s, Miller says she has had difficulty finding work -- at least work in excess of the $60,000-plus-a-year salary she was earning in her last position -- and her unemployment benefits have run out. This tour, she said, will show other Americans they are not alone in their struggles to find meaningful work.

The tour, featuring one representative from each state and the District of Columbia, is designed by supporters of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry to counter recent trips by the Bush administration to promote what they call a growing economy.

The Show Us The Jobs tour will travel through the so-called "Rust Belt" with stops in not only Wisconsin and Minnesota, but also in Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. They are states that political observers feel are key in determining who will win the White House in November.

The tour is being funded by the $44 million the labor federation plans to spend this year on political campaigns and mobilization of its 13.1 million members.