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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: NickSE who wrote (7389)	9/9/2003 9:00:10 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793801

I may have to put up with some Religious fanatics, but at least I don't have the Union Thugs on my side. You make it to the top of a Union by being good with a bat on the picket line. Dean Courts Union President Goal Is to Deny Gephardt Key Endorsement From AFL-CIO By Jim VandeHei Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, September 9, 2003; Page A02 Howard Dean is campaigning hard to deny rival Richard A. Gephardt the most coveted prize in the early stage of the nominating process: the official endorsement of the AFL-CIO. Dean yesterday intensified his personal lobbying campaign to win the backing of Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, and the SEIU's 1.6 million members. Dean has called Stern numerous times to make the case that with the SEIU's backing, he could wrap up the nomination much more quickly and improve his campaign's standing with union members. The SEIU is the largest of the 66 unions represented by the AFL-CIO. Stern showed up at a recent Dean rally, but he said he hasn't picked a candidate yet. Dean, one of eight Democratic presidential candidates to audition before the SEIU yesterday at its political conference here, has repudiated his prior support for trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, and suggested all future trade deals should require other countries to adhere to U.S. labor and environmental standards. Trade experts say such standards would greatly curtail U.S. trade because most nations do not and cannot adhere to environmental and labor laws as strict as those of this country. Dean's tough position has delighted union members, who generally oppose free trade because they believe it leads to job loss, but it prompted Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) to warn at last week's debate that the former Vermont governor's ideas would create the "Dean depression." Dean has zipped past Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) to open a double-digit lead in New Hampshire and climbed to the top of the polls in Iowa, which has a strong and influential labor movement. Iowa was supposed to be Gephardt's state to lose, because the House member hails from neighboring Missouri and is considered the most avid union supporter of all the leading candidates. Dean hopes to chip away at Gephardt's base of union supporters by playing up his own quick rise in the polls. His top target is the SEIU, a political powerhouse. The SEIU plans to spend millions of dollars, visit 10 million homes and make 7 million phone calls on behalf of the Democrat it backs for president. Stern said only three candidates appear to be in the running: Dean, Gephardt and Kerry. Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) called Stern on Sunday night to let him know that he is not running for reelection and that the SEIU could "remake" his presidential campaign if it endorsed him. Edwards lags far behind in most polls and the SEIU -- more than most unions -- is considering the candidates' electability as much as their positions on traditional labor issues. The SEIU may make an endorsement this week, but Stern told reporters, "We may never endorse." While this wouldn't be the ideal outcome for Dean, it would help serve his purpose of denying Gephardt even greater union support and possibly the AFL-CIO plum, said Joe Trippi, Dean's campaign manager. Gephardt has focused most of his campaign on winning the AFL-CIO endorsement, which brings with it tens of millions of dollars in support and, more important, millions of union members to hit the pavement on the candidate's behalf. To win the endorsement officially, Gephardt needs the backing of two-thirds of AFL-CIO members. Without the SEIU, it would be much harder if not impossible for him to get it. "It's hard to see any kind of Gephardt move [up in the polls] without virtually all of organized labor behind him," said Jim Jordan, campaign manager for Kerry. It is labor leaders such as the AFL-CIO's John Sweeney, the Teamsters' James P. Hoffa and the SEIU's Stern who will make the final call. Hoffa, whose union has already endorsed Gephardt, is lobbying Stern and others to follow suit so the unions can play an active and perhaps decisive role in the primaries. Gephardt has won the backing of 12 unions, including the Teamsters and the politically powerful machinists and steelworkers unions. But the AFL-CIO has only endorsed a Democrat in the primary cycle twice -- Walter F. Mondale in 1984 and Al Gore in 2000. Based on SEIU members' response to speeches by Gephardt, Kerry and Dean, the race for the endorsement is too close to call.