Bush to be in Phoenix Friday By Jon Kamman and Billy House, The Arizona Republic
Some 800 people, many affiliated with Local 408 of the carpenters union and the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, which operates the new training facility, have been invited to attend.
Democrats and the AFL-CIO promise a large demonstration outside the training center, a $12 million, 140,000-square-foot facility that opened last month at 4547 W. McDowell Rd. Protesters will fly red balloons calling attention to a burgeoning budget deficit under Bush's administration, said Jim Pederson, state Democratic Party chairman.
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners is one of the few unions that has consistently amicable relations with the Republican White House. The union broke with the AFL-CIO three years ago, and its president, Douglas J. McCarron, is close friends with Bush, sometimes traveling with him on Air Force One.