Cite Pro-Labor Stances
Edwards Gets TWU Nod for President

By ARI PAUL

Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint Sept. 6 joined his international union in endorsing former U.S. Sen. John Edwards for President, calling him the candidate who gave labor "its best shot."

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow ALL ABOARD FOR EDWARDS: Transport Workers Union of America President James Little (left) bestows union's endorsement for President on John Edwards Sept. 6, saying he understands working people's concerns better than the other candidates. Standing between them is TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint.

Mr. Edwards, the former North Carolina lawmaker who beginning with his unsuccessful run as the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004 has decried the widening economic gap between the wealthy and working people in the United States, won the collective support of all the TWU of America's affiliates.

'He Understands Labor'

"One of the toughest things we have to deal with these days is the erosion of the middle class, and I believe under the presidency of John Edwards that's going be reversed," International TWU President James Little said at the union's Midtown headquarters. "John's family grew up in the mills. John knows what it's like to be labor. He walks the talk, and he says what he means so far."

Mr. Toussaint called his union's endorsement "a vote of confidence in the candidacy of John Edwards."

Union activists from Oklahoma, Nevada and Texas also spoke and vowed to mobilize voters for Mr. Edwards. The TWU has nearly 200,000 members and retirees in the transit, railroad and airline industries. Local 100 is its largest affiliate.

In accepting the endorsement, Mr. Edwards outlined four campaign promises. In addition to promoting universal health care, he said the U.S. needed a trade policy that would mandate American airplanes be serviced and maintained inside the country. He said there should be a permanent ban on hiring permanent replacement workers for strikers and he promised that he would change the laws to make organizing easier, hinting he would support legislation that would allow workers to join unions by signing cards rather than, in the private sector, going through a National Labor Relations Board election. Many unions believe NLRB procedures are lengthy and have allowed employers to intimidate workers without fear of serious repercussions.

'You Move America'

"It's because of you that people can people move around the City of New York, that people can move around America," Mr. Edwards said to members' applause. "I'm also proud of the fact that you've taken hard jobs, jobs that require very hard work every single day and you've made them and built them into jobs that can support a middle-class standard of living."

Reporters asked Mr. Edwards several times if he believed public-sector workers should have the right to go on strike without facing legal consequences. He dodged the question, reiterating that he stood by his stance of easing the ability for workers to form and join unions. Local 100 conducted a three-day strike in December 2005 in violation of the state Taylor Law. As a result, it was fined $2.5 million, has been without the right to automatic dues check-off since June 1, and Mr. Toussaint spent several days in jail last year.

When asked why Local 100 chose to endorse Mr. Edwards over hometown U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, Mr. Toussaint replied, "I think that Senator Clinton is a fine candidate and an able candidate, and certainly more qualified than any of the Republican candidates. She has been a friend of our local and will continue to be a friend of our local. This is a decision that we made in conjunction with the rest of the affiliates of the Transport Workers Union. At the end of the day, we felt that the best candidate that would give labor and working America its best shot is Senator Edwards."

No Divided Loyalties

In his endorsement speech, Mr. Little said the other candidates triangulated between corporate America and labor, while Mr. Edwards was dedicated to serving working people.

Some of Mr. Edwards's competitors have picked up union endorsements as well. Senator Clinton won the support of the United Transportation Union. The International Association of Fire Fighters endorsed U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd last month. Mr. Edwards boasted that he had the support of the United Steelworkers of America, the United Mine Workers of America and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America in addition to the TWU, which among them represent two million members nationwide.

"I think it's a sign of a significant amount of momentum building in the campaign," Mr. Edwards said. "You can feel the movement happening."

Mr. Little noted that the TWU supported Mr. Edwards when he was U.S. Sen. John Kerry's running mate in 2004. In recent CNN and NBC polls, Mr. Edwards finished third behind Senator Clinton and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, but Mr. Little insisted that Mr. Edwards had a better chance of beating the leading Republican candidates in a general election.

"We have our second chance," Mr. Little said. "It's probably the only chance we're going have left in America. If we don't turn the tables now, we won't have an America that has a middle class."