Campaign Notebook: Unions Making Sure Obama Hears Their Voices

[Omaha Steve]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080613/pl_bloomberg/ab5u1yvmnkvw

Joe Sobczyk and Kim Chipman Fri Jun 13, 5:05 PM ET

June 14 (Bloomberg) -- The grumbling in the house of labor over Barack Obama's economic team is an effort by unions to gain more leverage in the campaign and in the White House if Obama is elected.

The appointment of Jason Furman as Obama's economic policy director has reopened some old wounds. Furman is a protege of Robert Rubin, architect of free-trade deals during the Clinton era that labor leaders blame for lost jobs and low wages.

``To the extent Democrats think there can be a continuation of the dismal trade record of the past several decades, we will fight them and fight them,'' said Larry Cohen, president of the Communication Workers of America.

The uproar comes as Obama is trying to unite the party and win over the blue-collar voters who shunned him in the primaries and who he'll need in November.

David Bonior, a former Michigan congressman with strong ties to labor, said two high-ranking union leaders -- who he wouldn't name -- have asked him to serve as a go-between.

``Labor is not just interested in having the right people in the Department of Labor, they want the right people in Treasury, Commerce,'' said Bonior, who endorsed Obama last month after aligning with former Senator John Edwards earlier.

In the end, who has Obama's ear on economic policy really isn't the issue, according to Harley Shaiken, a labor relations professor at the University of California at Berkeley.

``I don't think ultimately it's even targeted at Furman,'' Shaiken said. ``It's simply to ensure that their perspective is reflected in the policies of the campaign.''

[Joanne98]

1. Good. K&R