Edwards rallies union support in Oregon

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.oregonlive.com/politics/2007/10/edwards_rallies_union_support.html

SEASIDE -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards got a raucous rock-star welcome from Oregon labor activists Tuesday as he laid out his plans for universal health care, quick withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq and looser union sign-up laws.

"If you can join the Republican Party by signing name on a card, any worker in America ought to be able to join a union by signing a card," Edwards said. And when union workers strike, "No one will walk through that picket line and take your job away from you -- not while I'm president."

Edwards, the keynote speaker at the AFL-CIO convention, said he understands the interests of working people more than other candidates in the race because of his upbringing. He was raised by two mill-worker parents and spent part of his boyhood in a two-room mill-worker home.

"I want to be the president who explains to the country how important the labor movement has been," Edwards told an audience that leapt to its feet and cheered every few minutes. "If we want to improve and strengthen the middle class in this country, we have to grow and strengthen the union movement."

FULL story at link.

[saracat]

1. I love Edwards! He is the true "union" candidate. He stands for "solidarity"