2008 Hopefuls

All of the Democratic candidates appeared to be singing the same song in front of these labor/ union leaders. A lot of talk to grow the middle class of America must come from a growth of union membership… which has been steadily declining since the ’50s when 1 in 4 workers belonged to a union.

(Charles City Press) Aug. 16, 2007 WATERLOO (AP) — Six Democratic presidential contenders courted one of the party’s most crucial interest groups Wednesday, pledging to organized labor leaders in Iowa that they would work to reverse decades of declines in the nation’s union movement.

The six candidates — Sens. Joe Biden, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama, former Sen. John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson — pledged their support for labor-backed issues, such as expanding health care and toughening trade rules. But they argued that the biggest problem facing unions was the steady decline in membership, and all vowed to make it easier for unions to organize.

‘‘It is not rich people that made this country great,’’ Clinton said.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Democrats, Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Biden, Dodd, Richardson