Specter pushes for AFL-CIO endorsement

[Freddie Stubbs]

Tuesday, August 24, 2004
BY PETER L. DeCOURSEY
Of The Patriot-News

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter is reaching for a rare prize for a Pennsylvania Republican in a contested race: the endorsement of the state AFL-CIO.

A high-profile labor official predicts Specter will get it when the labor organization's state board meets next week in Hershey.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rick Bloomingdale, a longtime Democratic strategist active in Sen. John Kerry's Democratic presidential campaign, said, "It still could be neutral. But right now, I think Arlen's going to get it."

Specter's challenger in the Nov. 2 election, U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel, D-Montgomery, sees it differently. He predicts neither candidate will achieve the two-thirds majority required for endorsement, and he will get the union support that counts most.

more: http://www.pennlive.com/statehouse/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/109333938791810.xml

[WI_DEM]

1. dems have a shot at this seat

and organized labor should at the very least vote to stay neutral.

[napi21]

2. Haven't these union endorsements diminished a lot recently?

I lived 42 years in Pgh. and I remember the days of powerful unions. I also saw them loose a lot of that power. But because of the new campaign finance law, how much does this endorsement really mean? They are restricted in thier contributions now, so that BIG $$ is gone, and the voters will do as they please on the ballot.

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. They can still supply a lot of campaign workers

[Gman]

3. Getting 2/3 for an endorsement is tough for anyone

You only need 1/3 +1 vote to force a no endorsement. I know nothing about the PA AFL-CIO but I'd still say Spector has an uphill fight. Often a no endorsement is best because it frees up the locals to do what they really would rather do in their areas. Requiring 2/3 is good for unity.

[napi21]

5. I've never belonged to a union. Can you tell me how this works?

If a union endorses a particular candidate, aren't the members still able to campaign for and vote for their own choice?

Do the members have to do the door to door campaigning just because their union told them to?

My hubby was a union member in Pa as long time ago, but I don't ever remember hearing him say anything about this kind of stuff.

[Gman]

6. Whether it be local, state or national

any endorsements done by the AFL-CIO require a 2/3 vote of the combined total membership of each affiliated union. Generally at the state and national levels, this is done at conventions, although occasionally, the executive board may do the endorsement.. But whether done at convention or by the E-boar, each affiliated union has a voting strength equal to the number of members the affiliated union represents. Whichever candidate gets 2/3 of the total votes gets an endorsement. If no candidate gets 2/3 of the total votes, then it is considered that there is a "No Endorsement" in that race. If a candidate manages to get the 2/3 vote then every union member affiliated with that part of the AFL-CIO that made the endorsement is considered "bound" by the union endorsement and is expected to vote for that candidate and/or work for that candidate's election. The same process is followed at the local level at meetings of what's called AFl-CIO "Central Labor Council"'s. (That's what the CLC stands for after the name of a lot of unions.)

It is not unheard of for there to be a dual endorsement where both candidates are considered good friends of labor and that labor won't go wrong with either of them. The vote is then to dually endorse both candidates rather than one over the other. I've seen a couple of dual endorsements done, but they were both in Democratic primaries. It is rare, but does happen and is legal.

If there is a no endorsement in a race, the individual unions are then free to endorse a candidate and "bind" its members to that endorsement. However, an affilliated union may not legally endorse another candidate in a race other than a candidate that has been duly endorsed by the AFL-CIO.

One thing on being "bound by the union endorsement", meaning a member's responsibility to vote for the candidate the union endorsements. Everyone knows that not every union member votes the union endorsements, regardless of their responsibility to the union for the sake of the strength of the union and for unity. Obviously, a member can vote against the union endorsement with impunity. However if a member were to go out and physically and publicly work against a candiate that has been endorsed, he/she would be opening up his/herself to having internal charges filed on them that could carry penalties up to and including expulsion from the union. Similarly, a an affilliated union that actively and publicly works against the endorsement of the AFL-CIO could have similar charges filed against it carrying the same kind of penalties.

One last thing, keep in mind that not every union is in the AFL-CIO. The Teamsters were expelled from the AFL-CIO at one tme, came back in like 25 year later and (I think) are back out again. There are other national and international unions that do not belong now. I forget now who is in or out. Keep in mind though, that there is only one organization that historically has the right to claim to represent "labor" and that is the AFL-CIO.

[Wolftone378]

7. I hope the

AFL-CIO has more sense than to endorse the guy that outsourced jobs and taxed the shit out of the middle class. Here's hoping that Snarlin Arlen doesn't get the 2/3 majority!:thumbsdown: