SanWorkers' Official Blessing
Hillary Gets a Late Pick-Up

By RICHARD STEIER

Sen. Hillary Clinton may be a polarizing figure in some parts of the country, but at the union whose initials spell USA, they loved her early and late in her re-election campaign.

'A REAL CONNECTION': Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association President Harry Nespoli, citing the rapport between his members and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton when they met last December, gave her the union's endorsement last week.

The Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association Nov. 2 issued a press release announcing its endorsement, with President Harry Nespoli stating, "There is a real connection between Senator Clinton and the working women and men our union represents."

Icing on the Cakewalk

No press conference or photo opportunity was held, and it didn't seem like that big a deal, given that Ms. Clinton is on her way to an easy victory over a Republican opponent, John Spencer, whose campaign has been so lackluster that the only time he garnered extensive media exposure was for a series of disparaging remarks he made about Ms. Clinton's looks when she was younger.

Then again, a case could be made that the real endorsement of Ms. Clinton by the Sanworker union came last Dec. 13, when she visited the union's lower Manhattan headquarters and got a rousing reception from 300 shop stewards and other activists, including the whooping and whistling generally associated with a good political rally.

Some of the stewards at that time seemed to have forgotten that Senators serve six-year terms, or perhaps were expressing an early preference in the 2008 elections when they chanted, "Four more years! Four more years!" Mr. Nespoli certainly did nothing to discourage such thoughts when he introduced her as "possibly the next President."

Mutual Admiration

Ms. Clinton then returned the love by complimenting them on the job they had done after 9/11 to clear the streets so cops and firefighters could gain access to the area around the World Trade Center site, and lauding them for the productivity they have shown under the 25-year-old two-worker truck collection program. "I don't think there's anybody who can touch you anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world," she said. Mr. Nespoli insisted at the time that the reception for Ms. Clinton shouldn't be viewed as an early endorsement, saying with a smile, "Sometimes I can't control my work force."

Last week the union made official what had been obvious 11 months earlier.