Steve Smith from the AFL-CIO Media Affairs Department joined union members in Florida for the fourth AFL-CIO town hall forum for 2008 presidential candidates.

Appearing before a packed Pipe Fitters union hall in Opa-Locka, Fla., Sen. Joe Biden set the tone for his 90-minute Working Families Vote 2008 town hall meeting right off the bat.

I’m in the U.S. Senate because of the union movement. I got elected by 3,000 votes in 1972 because of organized labor.

Biden, wearing a suit and a Pipefitters Local 725 hat, spoke with more than 250 boisterous union members who’d gathered to participate in the town hall, part of a series the AFL-CIO is holding with presidential candidates in cities across the nation.

Biden’s appearance combined serious discussion about policy on issues like the war in Iraq, retirement security and the freedom to join and form unions with personal—often poignant—recollections of how the union movement helped shape his career. He also showed a penchant for humor, peppering his remarks with amusing anecdotes that the crowd of union workers clearly enjoyed.

In the neighborhood I grew up in, you either became a fireman, policeman or a priest. I couldn’t do any of those things so I became a U.S. senator.

In his opening remarks, Biden went after the Bush administration’s appalling record on workers’ rights.

This president didn’t just declare war on Iraq, he declared war on the union movement in this country…for this (administration), labor reform means get out of the way.

Biden went on to praise the union movement as “the only thing that keeps the barbarians at the gate.”

“There is a middle class in this country for one reason and only one reason: the union movement,” Biden said to roaring applause.

Biden, known for his expertise on foreign policy, sees the ongoing quagmire in Iraq needs to be immediately addressed.

We’ve got to take care of this big boulder in the road called Iraq. Until we do that, we’re not going to have the money to deal with problems at home. We have to regain credibility to get the rest of the world to follow us again. When I end that war [as president], that’s $100 billion a year I can spend on health care, energy and the list goes on and on.

While Biden started the forum on a small stage, he quickly moved to the floor while listening to the concerns of workers who shared stories and asked questions. Instead, he devoted most of the hour and 30 minutes moving through the crowd, addressing the audience face to face.

Three workers shared personal stories with Biden, to highlight issues that are on the midst of working families everywhere.

Marc Crispi spent three years trying to join a union before finally succeeding. During that time, he was harassed by his employer, intimidated, called into one-on-one meetings and threatened. Crispi wondered why it is so difficult in this country to exercise the freedom to form or join a union.

Noting his support for the Employee Free Choice Act, Biden responded:

If the most cherished right a country gives a citizen is the right to vote and all you have to do is sign your name in order to register to vote, it shouldn’t be any different to join a union.

The Employee Free Choice Act, which passed the House in March and now is in the Senate, would level the playing field for workers seeking to form unions.

Biden also railed against the Bush administration’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) appointees saying the administration “put in the Labor Department people who would like to do away with labor.”

As president, the first thing I would do is appoint people to the NLRB who can say the word union.

Biden went on to say that while passing the Employee Free Choice Act was a necessary step to revitalize labor, much more needs to be done: Enabling more white-collar workers to form unions and electing a Democratic president who would sign the Employee Free Choice Act and build on the numbers of workers who enjoy the advantage of having a voice on the job.

I’m not looking to get labor back on its feet, I’m looking to get organized labor running again. This should be a renaissance for organized labor, not just stopping the slide.

Maggie Palmer, a teacher at Maya Angelou Elementary School in Miami, told Biden her students are being deprived of the education they deserve because they don’t have adequate access to technology.

Biden told Palmer that he would make school funding a priority, noting his work with computer moguls Bill Gates and Steve Case to increase young people’s access to computers. He said ending the war in Iraq could provide vital funds to funnel to our nation’s education system.

We need to have classrooms equipped for the 21st century. Every kid should have a personal computer right at their desk.

Finally, Glenda Abicht, a communications technician, told Biden she is worried that her children, who are in college now, face entering a workforce that no longer values providing secure retirements.

Biden said as president he would make sure defined-benefit plans are protected, encourage legislation that would require employers to contribute to 401(k) plans and make sure that Social Security is solvent.

With his trademark humor, Biden told the crowd that if they want a secure retirement in this environment, they’d better make sure at least one of their kids is a money-obsessed Republican. Biden’s three children, all proud Democrats, are employed as a social worker, founder of a homeless shelter and politician. “I always hoped one of my kids would be rich so when they put me in a home, they’d at least put me in a room with a window,” he joked.

Biden also touched on U.S. trade policy, calling for stronger labor and environmental protections. In addition, he said as president he would help end the nursing shortage and stop the privatization of government jobs.

The workers, representing a variety of unions, including the Longshoreman, Letter Carriers, Plumbers and Pipe Fitters and many others, seemed impressed with Biden, if uncertain as to whether he will ultimately earn their support.

“He was terrific,” said a retired woman wearing a T-shirt that read: 01.20.09—Bush’s Last Day. “I’d like to hear more.”

Never one to disappoint, Biden stayed for 30 minutes after the forum talking to union members, taking pictures and answering as many questions as he could before being ushered out by weary staffers.

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