STEEL WORKERS, CWA’S COHEN, AND AFGE BACK OBAMA

Thursday, May 15, 2008

(PAI)STEEL WORKERS, CWA’S COHEN, AND AFGE BACK OBAMA
By Mark Gruenberg
PAI Staff Writer

    PITTSBURGH (PAI)--Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the
front-runner for the Democratic presidential
nomination, gained steam among unions in mid-May. He
picked up the valuable endorsement on May 15 of one of
the most-activist and politically savvy among them,
the 800,000-plus-member Steel Workers.

    The unanimous vote by USWA’s executive board came the
day after the hopeful the Steel Workers previously
strongly endorsed, former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.),
backed Obama.   USWA’s decision came the same day as a
personal endorsement of Obama from Communications
Workers President Larry Cohen, one of his union’s two
automatic “super-delegates” to the Democratic
convention in Denver.

    CWA’s other super-delegate, retiring
Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling,
enthusiastically backs Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).
CWA has made no endorsement, but may issue one at its
own convention in Las Vegas in June, the union said.
On May 9, Obama picked up the American Federation of
Government Employees, the largest federal worker
union.

    Like other unions that endorsed Obama, USWA also
praised Clinton, but it said “the time for division
must cease”--a polite way of urging her to leave the
race.

    USWA initially strongly backed Edwards because of his
“deep commitment to working people and because of our
shared beliefs. His belief that unfair trade policies
must be changed, his commitment to pass the Employee
Free Choice Act (EFCA) to restore workers’ rights to
freely choose workplace representation, and his
proposal for universal health care were widely shared
by our members.”

    With Obama agreeing with Edwards on those issues--and
with Edwards’ own decision--USWA changed to the
Illinoisan. Its endorsement is notable because, as
Communications Director Marco Trbovich pointed out, “a
majority of our members are white men” including
working-class men Obama has been having trouble with
politically.

    “Obama’s call for a significant change of direction
amounts to far more than a compelling rallying cry.
It is buttressed by his record of consistent support
for workers, by his call for sweeping changes to our
health care system, by his unflinching support for
Employee Free Choice, and by his insistence that
America’s trade policies must, first and foremost,
serve the interests of America’s working families,”
USWA said.

    “Obama has shown his commitment to working families
by proposing significant
investments in the future of American manufacturing,
in the revitalization of our nation’s

infrastructure, and in 21st century clean energy
technologies that will lead to significant growth in
domestic jobs. He is clearly the candidate who can
best lead our nation out of the dark period of
economic decline created by the Bush administration’s
allegiance to Wall Street profiteering at the expense
of worker prosperity,” the union added.

    “Workers cannot afford another four years of rehashed
Bush policies, another four years in which the
National Labor Relations Board shills for corporate
misconduct, or another four years of a Secretary of
the Treasury who considers it his ‘job’ to bail out
Wall Street speculators at the expense of hard-working
families losing their homes.”

    Trbovich, who sat in on the meetings and conference
calls that led to the endorsement, said Obama’s recent
call for revitalizing manufacturing along the “green”
lines USWA has pushed for years “cannot be ignored.”
Trbovich called the board debate open and vigorous,
adding “as circumstances changed, so did members’
views.”

    “We continued to press both candidates on trade” and
both answered in ways to please workers, Trbovich
said. “The reality is we have two very strong
candidates with similar views,” which was a reason for
the lateness of USWA’s decision. After Edwards
withdrew, backing from USWA members nationwide was
very strong for both and roughly even, he noted. “The
big issue is not to have four more years with McCain”
repeating the policies of GOP President George W.
Bush, Trbovich said.

    Cohen emphasized Obama’s issue stands and call for
change in his personal endorsement. “Obama's message
of hope and 'change we can believe in' resonated
across our country. He is building a broad base of
support, inspiring new voters to join the political
process and demonstrating great appeal to all those
looking for positive leadership to move us beyond
politics-as-usual in Washington,” Cohen said.

    "CWA is focused on four key issues to restore our
nation's middle class: Real health care reform, jobs
and fair trade, retirement security and the
restoration of real workers' rights through the
Employee Free Choice Act. On these and more, Obama
has a solid program to move our nation forward and
bring about the positive change and economic justice
families need, now more than ever,” the CWA leader
added.

    He urged CWA members to forward their choices to the
2,000 union delegates meeting in Las Vegas in June.
USWA will mobilize its political activists, especially
in Kentucky, for Obama, Trbovich said. It has 30,000
members and retirees there.

    AFGE President John Gage said “as federal employees,
our members witnessed first-hand the devastating
impact of Bush’s misguided policies, but with Obama,
we can right the direction of this country.” AFGE
polled members and its council voted on the
endorsement, but it did not release figures. It has a
large Republican minority. Neither Gage nor his
spokesman said what the union would tell them. ###