International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 1307

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Democratic candidates court union workers

By JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — They can be found rallying union workers, walk­ing picket lines or helping sign up new members. Democrats running for president are after something else this time of year: the endorse­ments of the oh-so-important labor unions.

When organized labor calls, the Democratic candidates are there.

"You take politics seriously," De- mocratic front-runner Hillary Rod-ham Clinton told the green-skirted American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union at a candidates forum Tues­day morning. "You understand that we have to organize in order to change the direction of this coun­try,,

Clinton isn't alone in courting labor to get a push in the early pri­mary states.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, begins union speeches with "Soli­darity Forever!" Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., relocated an impor­tant Chicago fundraiser because it had been booked in a nonunion lo­cale. Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., wrote letters urging R.J. Reynolds Co. employees in his state to unionize.

"We think that it's really impor­tant for candidates not only to talk the right talk but actually walk the right talk," said Anna Burger, secre­tary-treasurer of the Service Employ­ees International Union, which has nearly 2 million members nationwide and a large membership in the early voting states of Iowa and Nevada.

More than for any other interest groups, Democratic candidates line up to participate in union presidential fo­rums, like the AFSCME one on Tues­day, or the 10 million-member AFL-CIO's candidate forums, in which candidates speak in town hall-style for­mats in different cities, to curry favor

Unions place a high value on that face time.

"If someone says, 'I don't care enough about your organization to

come and talk to you,' that might knock them out," said Edward J. McElroy, president of the American Federation of Teachers, whose execu­tive council held private interviews with five of the Democratic candi­dates in May and plans to do more in July.

National Education Association President Reg Weaver points out even today that Democratic presi­dential candidate John Kerry didn't go to his union's representative as­sembly. Kerry had a good reason, though. It was the same day he an­nounced that Edwards would be his running mate, Weaver said.

Still, it "really, really did not sit well with people," said Weaver, who expects six or seven candidates to show up at the meeting in Philadel­phia the first week in July.

Despite their shrinking numbers, union support is still vital for De­mocrats.

Last year, there were 15.4 million union members, making up 12 per­cent of the work force. That's down from a high of 21 million union workers in 1978.

But organized labor is still a key fundraising target for Democrats. In the 2004 elections, organized labor gave $53.6 million to Democratic can­didates and party committees in a los­ing effort to capture the White House and Congress, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Unions expect to surpass that number for the 2008 elections. Yet money is only one aspect, said Richard Hurd, professor of labor studies at Cornell University.

"More important is the people to work on the ground campaigns. That's where the labor movement ex­cels," Hurd said. "And even though the numbers have declined in terms of labor's membership, the effective­ness of unions at getting their mem­bers to volunteer and work on cam­paigns and turning out members and actually influencing the votes of nonmembers, all of that has im­proved."

UNION BUCKS POURING IN

Democrats by far are the top recipients of campaign contributions from organized labor. Here are the top givers in the 2006 federal campaign:

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $3,224,536

Laborers International Union of North America $2,976,750

International Union of Operating Engineers $2,861,245

American Federation of Teachers $2,589,748

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners $2,556,673

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees $2,390,338

7 National Education Association $2,317,427

United Auto Workers $2,311,490

International Brotherhood of Teamsters $2,276,522

National Air Traffic Controllers Association $2,160,570

Source: Center for Responsive Politics