by Seth Michaels, Dec 5, 2007

The Fire Fighters (IAFF) visited Clinton and Dubuque today on their weeklong bus tour through Iowa in support of Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd.

The Fire Fighters endorsed the Connecticut senator in August, and the union is mobilizing members in Iowa to help him in the Jan. 3 presidential caucuses. You can see footage from the bus tour in this video.

In Council Bluffs, Fire Fighters President Harold Schaitberger told members they could be the ones to make a difference for Dodd in the crucial Iowa caucuses.

We’re looking at a candidate that has a proven track record of results. We want to pick the person we believe in and make them a winner.

Fire Fighters from around the state speak on the video about Dodd’s record. They praise his long record of service and his attention to Fire Fighters and to the needs of working families.

Darren Banks, a Council Bluffs resident and president of Fire Fighters Local 385 in Omaha, Neb., said that even though he’s a Republican, he thinks Dodd is “the right candidate for president.”

He’s been a friend to Fire Fighters. It’s a single word: It’s loyalty.

Tomorrow, the Fire Fighters will end the bus tour with a rally for Dodd in Des Moines.

The Fire Fighters are not the only union mobilizing behind a candidate.  AFSCME has endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), and AFSCME President Gerald McEntee is campaigning for her in Iowa. He will be a guest at a Labor Women for Hillary Clinton breakfast this Saturday. AFSCME is also going to air television ads supporting Clinton.

In addition, members of Region 4 of the United Auto Workers (UAW) voted to recommend an endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) this month. The vote did not constitute an official endorsement for Region 4, which includes Iowa. And the Iowa Postal Workers Union/APWU) has endorsed former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) for president.

In August, the AFL-CIO Executive Council said it would not yet make an endorsement for a 2008 candidate, freeing AFL-CIO unions to endorse candidates for the caucuses and primaries. The AFL-CIO will continue the Working Families Vote 2008 campaign to help elect a worker-friendly Congress and president.

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