Unite Here Expected to Endorse Obama (450,000 members incl. NV)

[Renew Deal]

Unite Here, the union representing more than 450,000 hotel, restaurant, apparel and laundry workers, is likely to announce its endorsement of Senator Barack Obama on Wednesday, a top union official said yesterday.

The union’s leaders are to vote in a conference call at 11 p.m. Tuesday night, following the New Hampshire primary, and they are expected to back Mr. Obama unless he stumbles badly in New Hampshire.
“There are three excellent candidates in the race ­ we like them all,” UNQUOTE said Bruce Raynor, the union’s president. QUOTE “This is a very hard choice.”

The endorsement would make Unite Here the first national union to back Mr. Obama, and it would give him a big leg up in Nevada, where the union’s Las Vegas local, Culinary Local 226, with more than 60,000 members, is by far the largest and strongest union in the state.
<snip>

The union, a successor to the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union and the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Union, also represents 400,000 retirees. Union officials say they could help Mr. Obama in South Carolina because they are one of the largest unions there as a result of the union’s long-time presence in the textile industry there.
<snip>

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/unite-here-expected-to-endorse-obama/

[babylonsister]

1. This will help bigtime!

:bounce: :bounce:

[Critters2]

2. Disappointing. Obama is no friend to labor, imo. nt

[Renew Deal]

3. Labor disagrees

:shrug:

[redqueen]

4. What makes you say that?

The only thing I can think of in his background would be the Free Trade agreement with Oman...

Is there anything else?

[Adelante]

5. Whoopie!

:D