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09-03-2007, 02:50 PM
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/03/edwards.unions/index.html
Edwards picks up 2 major union endorsements -
(CNN) -- Democratic White House hopeful John Edwards, who has made a strong push for union support on the campaign trail, picked up two major endorsements Monday, making him the leading candidate for labor endorsements in the presidential field.
Former Sen. John Edwards campaigns Sunday in Tipton, Iowa.
The United Steelworkers and United Mine Workers of America announced their support of Edwards at a Labor Day rally in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In a statement, Steelworkers President Leo Gerard said, "All of the Democratic candidates in the field share our values, and any one of them would be a major improvement over the current administration. But none of them is a more forceful advocate for those values than John Edwards. Sen. Edwards is committed, as he has been throughout his life, to going to bat for everyday Americans and to changing a broken political system that leaves millions of Americans without a voice in their government."
Edwards told the boisterous rally, "America was not built on Wall Street. America was built by steelworkers and mine workers."
The Steelworkers called Edwards the most electable Democrat in the general election.
"I am proud of the fact that these great unions are supporting and endorsing me, and that they said, in the endorsement, that John Edwards is the candidate for president who can campaign and win, in Pennsylvania, in Ohio, in West Virginia, all the places in America where we have to be able to compete and win," Edwards said at the rally. "I will campaign everywhere."
Edwards said in an earlier statement, "These are the workers who built the middle class in America, and they are the backbone of the American labor movement. They understand how important it is to fight back when jobs, safety, standards and our values are at risk."
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On the trail and in debates, Edwards has attacked the Democratic 2008 front-runner, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, as the candidate for big business and lobbyists.
At an AFL-CIO forum in Chicago last month, Edwards disputed Clinton was a candidate for change and poked fun at her appearance on the cover of Fortune magazine. He told the audience that day, "You will never see a picture of me on the front of Fortune magazine saying I am the candidate that big corporate America is betting on. That's one thing you can take to the bank."
The United Steelworkers is the largest industrial union in North America, with 850,000 members and retirees in the metals, mining, rubber, paper, oil refining, chemicals and service industries, and the mine workers claimed more than 86,000 members on its 2006 Labor Department disclosure forms, according to The Associated Press.
Edwards already has received an endorsement from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
Clinton was endorsed by the United Transportation Union and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, has been endorsed by the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Among the Republican presidential hopefuls, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has the support of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Edwards picks up 2 major union endorsements -
(CNN) -- Democratic White House hopeful John Edwards, who has made a strong push for union support on the campaign trail, picked up two major endorsements Monday, making him the leading candidate for labor endorsements in the presidential field.
Former Sen. John Edwards campaigns Sunday in Tipton, Iowa.
The United Steelworkers and United Mine Workers of America announced their support of Edwards at a Labor Day rally in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In a statement, Steelworkers President Leo Gerard said, "All of the Democratic candidates in the field share our values, and any one of them would be a major improvement over the current administration. But none of them is a more forceful advocate for those values than John Edwards. Sen. Edwards is committed, as he has been throughout his life, to going to bat for everyday Americans and to changing a broken political system that leaves millions of Americans without a voice in their government."
Edwards told the boisterous rally, "America was not built on Wall Street. America was built by steelworkers and mine workers."
The Steelworkers called Edwards the most electable Democrat in the general election.
"I am proud of the fact that these great unions are supporting and endorsing me, and that they said, in the endorsement, that John Edwards is the candidate for president who can campaign and win, in Pennsylvania, in Ohio, in West Virginia, all the places in America where we have to be able to compete and win," Edwards said at the rally. "I will campaign everywhere."
Edwards said in an earlier statement, "These are the workers who built the middle class in America, and they are the backbone of the American labor movement. They understand how important it is to fight back when jobs, safety, standards and our values are at risk."
Don't Miss
On the trail and in debates, Edwards has attacked the Democratic 2008 front-runner, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, as the candidate for big business and lobbyists.
At an AFL-CIO forum in Chicago last month, Edwards disputed Clinton was a candidate for change and poked fun at her appearance on the cover of Fortune magazine. He told the audience that day, "You will never see a picture of me on the front of Fortune magazine saying I am the candidate that big corporate America is betting on. That's one thing you can take to the bank."
The United Steelworkers is the largest industrial union in North America, with 850,000 members and retirees in the metals, mining, rubber, paper, oil refining, chemicals and service industries, and the mine workers claimed more than 86,000 members on its 2006 Labor Department disclosure forms, according to The Associated Press.
Edwards already has received an endorsement from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
Clinton was endorsed by the United Transportation Union and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, has been endorsed by the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Among the Republican presidential hopefuls, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has the support of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.