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John Edwards Meets with Union Family Members in Seattle |
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| John Edwards |
David Groves, communications director for the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), sends us this report from Seattle, where John Edwards met with nearly 1,000 union members in the second AFL-CIO town hall forum with 2008 presidential candidates.
“If we want to build the middle class in this country… it is absolutely crucial that we make it easier, not harder, to organize unions in the workplace.”
That was the message presidential candidate John Edwards delivered to union members who gathered Tuesday at the International Association of Machinists (IAM) District 751 Hall in Seattle.
The event was the second of the AFL-CIO’s Working Families Vote 2008 national town hall forums. Dozens of AFL-CIO unions were represented in the packed house, many members proudly wearing union T-shirts and creating a patchwork of colors in the audience.
Dave Freiboth, head of the host Martin Luther King County Labor Council, welcomed union members to the event, and Rick Bender, WSLC president, introduced Edwards as a man who “brought a positive message of change” to the 2004 campaign as Sen. John Kerry’s running mate.
Before taking questions, Edwards noted that today marked a sad anniversary.
Four years ago today, George Bush flew onto an aircraft carrier and declared: “Mission accomplished.” Not quite. The Congress was given a mission this past November, and that mission has not yet been finished, either. And that mission is to end this war in Iraq.
Edwards urged Congress to stand strong in the face of Bush’s veto of the Iraq withdrawal timetable and to demand it again repeatedly. “It’s the president of the United States who’s defying the will of the people,” he said.
But it was rank-and-file union members who literally took center stage at the Seattle forum, as workers told their stories and got to ask Edwards direct questions. The event was a breath of fresh air compared to the scripted, audience-screened stage shows that President Bush routinely conducts.
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Aletha Johnson, an IAM 751 member who has worked at the Boeing Co. since 1979, described how the number of good union jobs has dwindled at Boeing and many other manufacturing companies around the nation. She asked Edwards:
As president, how would you protect American manufacturing jobs, and protect against the outsourcing of our jobs?
Edwards’s response earned strong applause:
First of all, we need to get rid of tax laws that create incentives for companies to send jobs somewhere else. Then we need to support trade agreements that have real labor standards, real environmental standards, and that we can enforce those standards.
Paul Lee, an Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) Local 8 member in the audience, asked about immigration reform.
Edwards mentioned that border security and creating a “path to citizenship” for immigrant workers are important components of comprehensive immigration reform, but got the strongest applause when he said we need to “crack down on employers who are knowingly violating the law.”
Steve Kofahl is a claims representative for the Social Security Administration, where he has worked for 33 years, and a member of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3937. He asked Edwards what he would do to strengthen the delivery of critical social services to the Americans who need them.
Edwards replied first by thanking Kofahl and his fellow workers in the federal government who he said aren’t thanked nearly enough for their service to the country. Edwards then said the chronic understaffing at federal agencies must be addressed and that we need to stop contracting out that work to the private sector.
But Edwards kept coming back to the freedom to choose unionization as critical for America’s future.
It’s one thing to say this before a labor audience. It’s a different thing to talk to America about how important (union organizing) is to strengthening this democracy. It’s more than being willing to sign the Employee Free Choice Act. I will put whatever pressure is necessary to get it passed (in Congress), and I will make the case to America about why this is so important.
If we want to save the middle class in America, organizing and unions are a critical component of that.
The Employee Free Choice Act, which passed the House in March and is now in the Senate as S. 1041, would level the playing field for workers seeking to form unions.
The AFL-CIO, which has not endorsed any candidate for president, is holding these town hall forums as part of an intensive six-month program to engage union members and their families nationwide in the AFL-CIO’s presidential endorsement decision-making process. Find out more about all the candidates, and get easy access to video clips, polling, the latest political news from blogs around the country and more at the new AFL-CIO Working Families Vote 2008 website.
5 Comments
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As a retired union President(IUE-CWA),and a 7 year member of the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO,I would very much like to see the AFL-CIO endorse John Edwards– soon.
There is no question,there is a pro-union field of Democratic candidates competing for the presidential nomination,but on the most critical issue facing the labor movement today–getting non-union employers to stop beating our brains in during organizing czmpzigns,I think that John Edwards is,by far,the most committed candidate on this gut issue.
When its all said and done,if we cannot get the law changed,industrial unionism in America is going to simply fade away.
Before we merged with CWA,at our peak IUE had 250,000 members.Today,we have 63,000.In no year following 1979 has our union had as many members as we did the previous year.And IUE-CWA is not alone.I read recently that the UAW,a great union,now has less than 600,000 members.That’s 1 million fewer than they had at their peak!
Bill Clinton said he was for labor law reform before he was elected President.The AFL-CIO endorsed him–twice.We didn’t get labor law reform,we got NAFTA instead.He gave away the store to Democratic Congressmen, and Congresswomen to get NAFTA passed,but he made no meaningful effort to change the law to give unions a fair shot in organizing campaigns.
The time has come,in my opinion.to have a litmus test for Democratic candidates for President.And the test must be on how strongly they will fight for the Employee Free Choice Act.
If its looked at objectively,I don’t think there is any question that John Edwards is the best candidate for us.
Ed Fire
This story begins with “Unions are the best solution to strengthening America’s middle class…” which is a flawed statement. It should read “Unions are the best solution to strengthening America’s WORKING class.”
Why does the AFL-CIO use the phrase “middle class”? We are WORKERS, whether we are sweeping floors, teaching a college class, taking care of a patient in a hospital, driving a truck, etc.
If we depend on a paycheck to get by we are workers!
Also, we will not get much of anywhere when we back candidates that are not from the union movement. We need a party for working people. The “Democrats” have sold us out over and over again.
Time for a REAL change!
Wade Hannon, member AFT Local 4660
I have watched many of the canidates speak and spoken directly with many of them, there is one of them who speaking face to face with them, you have no doupt supports labor and our issues. That canidate is John Edwards.
When he is asked questions about labors issues, he does not have to hesitate to form his words to find a political answer which fits the crowd he is addressing, that is because his answer is always the same and he is just as animate about it in front of a gorup of businessmen as he is in front of labor, there is not another canidate out there who can say that.
John Edwards is clearly the best canidate in the race for labor - followed by Bill Richardson.
The country needs a leader who has never been in Washington. The Democrats & Republicans both have screwed the working class, NAFTA, Clinton CAFTA, Bush together that spelled SHAFTA for the working class. Both sides of the aisle have taken America into unwanted WARS Vietnam, johnson,,,,,iRAQ,BUSH,,,everytime we go to war A FEW MONEYED PEOPLE IN AMERICA GET RICHER Our politicians have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for a great many years,,,,,,Any business person would fire all of them in an instant for POOR JOB PERFORMANCE. When will America wake up and demand answers for 9/11 The WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS DID NOT FALL DOWN BECAUSE OF FIRES,,,,,,,,,,DEMAND ANSWERS I STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH MR FIRE I am a retired Fire Fighter Local 421 IAFF I am 78 years young,,,, I grew up in a depression. The democratic & Republican parties are all the same party NOWDAYS,,,The LOBBISTS are telling each party how to run the government because CORPORATE AMERICA is dictating to them. I would ask Mr. Ed Fire if he really thinks that a guy that spends $400.00 for a haircut is really interested in the working class..Mr Edwards more than likely is a very nice person. Mr Edwards is a TRIAL LAWYER. Mr. Edwards does Class Action lawsuits,,,,,the LAWYERS GET THE GRAVY, the plaintiffs get a empty bowl,,,,,,,i have been there Mr Edwards like every other politician has an EGO problem. Would you Mr. Fire settle for $400,000.00 a year as president, when you more than likely would get that amount from one class action lawsuit. America needs a very wealthy INDEPENDENT who truly would like to save America before its goes any farther into the SEPTIC TANK OF GREED & CORRUPTION
I could not agree more with my friend and brother Ed Fire.
This past weekend California Democrats concluded their California Democratic Party Convention in San Diego. There were over 300 Labor Delegates in attendance. I am a member of CWA and a Delegate who went to the convention not yet having chosen a candidate and looking to make an intelligent decision as to who I would work to elect President in 2008. It is really phenomenal that we Democrats have such a great pool of quality candidates this time around.
As Chair of the CDP Labor Caucus, and a Vice President of the California Labor Federation, I was fortunate to be included in four small group meetings of labor leaders that met with Obama, Clinton, Richardson and Edwards. Those close-up contacts with the Candidates combined with their convention remarks made my choice VERY easy!
John Edwards stands heads and shoulders above the others as a “PRESIDENT” who really understands and will support Working Families! He understands what is needed to get this country turned around and he is capable, ready and poised to LEAD us in that task. He does not have several speeches tailored for different audiences, i.e. a “Labor” speech for Labor, a “Business” speech for business groups or a “Moderate” speech and a “Liberal” speech for those groups. What you see and what you hear every time is what you are getting.
John Edwards was the ONLY Candidate who publicly acknowledged the value and accomplishments of Organized Labor to the whole convention stating, “Organizing more workers into unions is the only way we are going to restore the middle class in this country”. He has walked organizing picket lines and pledges to go anywhere he can to help us organize workers. During the past three years, since the 2004 election, he has been and continues to “WALK HIS TALK”. I am going to walk my talk and will be working to help get him elected.
John Edwards will be a great President for Working Families!
Jim Gordon