UAW to spend 'a lot' to back a Dem nominee ('cannot live with John McCain.')

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080204/AUTO01/802040387/1148

Monday, February 4, 2008

Gettelfinger says union won't endorse until party makes choice but 'cannot live with John McCain.'
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said the union will actively support the Democratic nominee for president, but the union won't endorse either of the front-runners until the nomination is locked up.

Gettelfinger lavished praise on the leading contenders, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, during a speech Sunday.

"Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are both our friends and they support the basic right to organize and will work with our union," Gettelfinger told 1,000 UAW members and retirees attending a political conference. "They understand that manufacturing matters.

"The 2008 election will be about change and the change we need is to take our country back on behalf of the hard-working Americans who made it great in the first place."

Some top Democrats were in the audience Sunday, including Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry and Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer. Speaking to reporters, Gettelfinger declined to be specific about the union's presidential election strategy, but vowed to "spend a lot." He said an informal poll of UAW members found that no Republican candidate garnered more than 2 percent of the vote. He said no Republican in the field was acceptable to the UAW. "We cannot live with John McCain," Gettelfinger said. "That's the bottom line."

Gettelfinger also told reporters the union was still negotiating with Chrysler LLC over the terms of some buyout offers.

FULL story at link.

[DainBramaged]

1. I need to catch up, way too busy today, this is great news