Observing from beyond the solar system, a cultural outsider looks in.
Friday, October 19, 2007
JRE endorsed by half of Maine's congressional delegation!
I just got off of a press conference call with the New Hampshire Edwards campaign. Representative Mike Michaud from Maine's 2nd district is endorsing John Edwards! Maine only has two representatives in Congress, so he represents half their congressional delegation. As Maine is right next to New Hampshire, I would think that this is a pretty important endorsement.
Mike Michaud is a lifelong millworker. He made the point that John can win in red states, because of his message. He believes that the other Democrats will not be able to win in red states, so that if we want to elect Democrats down the ballot, we need John as our presidential nominee.
Yet Another Union Endorsement for Edwards: Transport Workers Union
Today, John Edwards received his fourth union endorsement: the Transport Workers of America. Edwards has more union support than any other presidential candidate. With the addition of the Transport Workers Union, which represents over 200,000 workers, he has now been endorsed by unions representing over 2 million members.
The Transport Workers Union is a national union based in New York City. Hillary Clinton may have expected to get this endorsement, based on the location of their headquarters, but instead it went to Edwards.
"Some candidates seem to be figuring out how to best triangulate on campaign issues," said TWU President James C. Little. "John Edwards takes on subjects such as job security, health care, retirement and the growing gap in wealth between the rich and the middle class in a straight forward way that the country and working families desperately need."
Almost half of the Transport Workers Union's members live in states that will vote on or before February 5, including 8,000 active and retired workers in Nevada. This adds to Edwards's powerful organizing presence in the early states.
"I'm proud to stand in New York with members of the Transit Workers Union, who keep the city moving and help keep New Yorkers safe," said Edwards. "The men and women of the TWU serve on the front lines of our country's homeland security, protecting public transportation users, the nation's railways, and skies. These are the workers who get us to our jobs and our families.
"For too long, these good union men and women and millions of other working families have been ignored by a broken system in Washington. I'm looking forward to campaigning with them in early primary states and key general election battleground states, and as president I'll fight for them every day, so we can honor their hard work and make our transportation infrastructure safe and secure."
John Edwards has also been endorsed by the Carpenters Union with 520,000 members, the Steelworkers Union with 1.2 million members, and the Mine Workers Union with 105,000 members.
Check out this awesome video from the Steelworkers Union!
"Our endorsement is based on the Senator's outspoken support for all of organized labor and his focus on America's working families," said Carpenters President Douglas J. McCarron. "In addition to his support for labor, our leadership was particularly impressed with the Senator's strong stand on trade."
"We also believe that Senator Edwards will have a great appeal in a general election," McCarron continued. "He has the ability to reach out to moderate voters, including the members of our union, and to address their very real concerns about jobs, health care and the economy."
Their formal endorsement will come on September 8th, at a rally in New Hampshire.
Edwards has made support for unions a key feature not only of his campaign, but of his advocacy for many years before his campaign. I'm glad to see the unions are recognizing his work. These endorsements are well deserved.
