President Obama Gets Early Endorsement From United Farm Workers
Thursday, Jan. 12, at 11 a.m.:
United Farm Workers offers early endorsement of President Obama with L.A. rally - Event kicks off series of union planned events across the country backing Obama's re-election
LOS ANGELES, CA - President Barack Obama's re-election campaign receives an early endorsement from the United Farm Workers of America, the nation's largest and oldest farm workers union, during an 11 a.m. rally on Thursday, Jan. 12, at the UFW's Los Angeles offices, 4545 E. Cesar Chavez Ave. in East L.A. The rally kicks off a series of union-sponsored events and rallies throughout the nation supporting the President.
"We are proud to endorse President Obama in this historic year during which the UFW celebrates its 50th anniversary," said UFW President Arturo Rodriguez. "President Obama stands with farm workers and immigrants. His administration is fighting against mean-spirited partisan legislation and gratuitous attacks by Republican politicians against hard-working, tax-paying immigrants who are among the most vulnerable people in our society."
Under U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, the administration reversed former President George W. Bush's last-minute changes to the nation's agricultural guest worker program that would have reduced wages and protections for both foreign and domestic farm workers.
The Obama administration also moved promptly to block SB 1070, the Arizona's anti-immigrant law that discriminates against Latinos and encourages racial profiling, and the administration is challenging similar legislation in Alabama and Georgia. Just last week, President Obama announced changes to federal immigration rules that would let relatives of U.S. citizens remain with their families while they work to adjust their immigration status.
"The theme of the 2008 Obama campaign reflected Cesar Chavez's famous cry of 'Si Se Puede!'," Rodriguez said. "In 2012, we can proudly examine our progress and say, 'Yes we can' ensure that the rights, wages, benefits and living conditions of the women and men who put food on our tables are enhanced and not diminished.
"We have taken many important steps forward over the last four years. We need President Obama leading the nation for the next four."
read: http://www.ufw.org/_board.php?mode=view&b_code=news_press&b_no=11670&page=1&field=&key=&n=803
Remarks by Arturo S. Rodriguez, President
United Farm Workers of America
Endorsing President Obama’s Reelection
January 12, 2012—East Los Angeles, Calif.
Today, the United Farm Workers of America issues an early endorsement of Barrack Obama's re-election campaign and kicks off a series of rallies and events for the President across seven states in the next 10 days.
The UFW is organizing events in California’s Central Valley, Central Coast and North State Wine Country. We are also organizing rallies or joining with supporters and sister farm worker groups in Oregon and Washington state; and in the key swing states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Florida.
We are proud to endorse President Obama in this historic year during which the UFW celebrates its 50th anniversary. We are proud to stand with President Obama because he has stood with farm workers and immigrants over the last three years.
His administration is fighting against mean-spirited partisan legislation and gratuitous, intolerant attacks by Republican politicians against hard-working, tax-paying immigrants who are among the most vulnerable people in our society.
As soon as President Obama took office, he reminded us that elections do matter. Under Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, the administration reversed George W. Bush's last-minute changes to the nation's agricultural guest worker program that would have reduced wages and protections for both foreign and domestic farm workers. Among the labor protections President Obama restored is the principle that U.S. farm workers be hired before foreign labor, a protection weakened under President Bush.
Congress still must remedy the nation's need for a legal and stable work force by enacting the historic, bipartisan AgJobs bill that President Obama supports. Negotiated by the UFW and the nation’s growers, AgJobs would let undocumented farm workers stay in this country by continuing to work in agriculture.
The Obama administration also moved promptly to block SB 1070, Arizona's anti-immigrant law that discriminates against Latinos and encourages racial profiling. The administration is challenging similar laws in Alabama and Georgia. The Obama Justice Department recently moved against Phoenix’s anti-immigrant sheriff, Joe Arpaio, over his discriminatory policing targeting Latinos.
Just last week, President Obama announced changes to federal immigration rules that would let relatives of U.S. citizens remain with their families while they work to adjust their immigration status.
Never before in our nation’s history have we seen Latinos throughout the country being scapegoated and vilified as we have witnessed in the last few years. Republican presidential candidates are outdoing themselves to demonstrate ignorance and intolerance—or they are cynically pandering to voters who embrace these un-American traits.
Those repugnant politics stand in sharp contrast to President Obama’s leadership.
The theme of the President’s 2008 campaign borrowed from the words of Cesar Chavez’s 1972 fast in Arizona, “Si Se Puede!”—or “Yes We Can!”
In 2012, we can examine our progress and say with certainty, “Yes we can” ensure that the rights, wages, benefits and living conditions of the women and men who put food on our tables are enhanced, and not diminished.
We have taken many important steps forward during the last three years of the President’s first term. We need President Obama leading the nation for the next four years of his second term.
read: http://www.ufw.org/_board.php?mode=view&b_code=news_press&b_no=11670&page=1&field=&key=&n=803
= new reply since forum marked as read
I'm very happy to see this endorsement, and also with the info that there are more union events planned. 
Those who argue the notion that President Obama is "the enemy of the unions" will have a lot to be quiet about in the upcoming weeks and months, methinks.
K & R!
Yep, that's a pretty strong and decisive statement.
some folks have been putting forward again about Latinos having a problem with Obama, doesn't it? I'm so glad to see this endorsement now.
. . . also factoring in Romney's opposition to the Dream Act, these polls are accompanied by reports of wide disaffection with republicans among Latino voters. The party leaders are counseling their recruiters to use the word 'conservative' instead of 'republican' because the party has been so hostile to their interests. That opposition to their interests by republicans encompasses policies and initiatives which go far beyond anything this administration has proposed or enacted, so it's unlikely that folks with those concerns are going to sit back and allow republicans to advance.
Poll watcher: Republican problems with Hispanic voters larger than ever
fresh numbers from the Pew Hispanic Center reveal that Republicans have made little progress since 2008 in courting a fast-growing Hispanic voting bloc, two-thirds of whom voted for Barack Obama.
In their basic political party identification – the continental plates of American politics – 67 percent of Hispanics identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, compared with 20 percent who lean toward Republicans. The 47-point Democratic advantage is larger than at any point in more than a decade of polls, including 2008, when 26 percent of Hispanics sided with the Republican Party. As we noted Thursday, Obama leads Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney by 68 to 23 percent among Hispanic voters in a hypothetical general election match-up.
read: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/behind-the-numbers/post/poll-watcher-republican-problems-with-hispanic-voters-larger-than-ever/2011/12/13/gIQAZbWvQP_blog.html
...and especially with non-college educated White males. We don't just need to win the same margin as we did in 2008 with Latinos, we need to win bigger to offset other losses, and to do that we need to lead on the immigration debate rather than just sit back and say well we did alright in 2008, it should be fine.
We have to capitalize on groups that we do well with: women, Latinos, African-Americans and the college educated. Pretty incredible when you think about that so many Latinos still support Republicans, no? We won't be able to get scientific until the Republicans have a candidate, and I'm not sure it's going to be Romney, but there really are no issues that Obama is just going to be able to dodge in 2012.
"so it's unlikely that folks with those concerns are going to sit back and allow republicans to advance."
Stranger things have happened...
Last edited Fri Jan 13, 2012, 03:56 AM - Edit history (1)
Fired up! Ready to go! 
The media doesn't want to highlight anything good about the Democrats, so it its up Team Obama to lead the highlighting of our positions, otherwise we just get cast in the "Democrats aren't different" basket. This is all about message control. You don't control your messaging at your own peril with the obvious contingency that you get attacked and put on the defensive. IMHO the best defense is a good offense. We have to fight. We can't sit on our laurels, people want to hear what we are going to try and deliver in the next 4 years.
P.S. What you're describing, I call the Nader Fallacy. Worked against Gore good enough. 
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