March 08, 2007
'08 Endorsement Watch: Updated Endorsement Plan From The AFL-CIO Winter Meeting
An occasional series of posts on the presidential endorsement processes for major interest groups.
Organizations: The AFL-CIO and AFSCME
In a 3/7 a.m. press briefing from the AFL-CIO Exec. Council Winter mtg in Las Vegas, NV, Pres. John Sweeney and Political Cmte Chair/AFSCME Pres. Gerald McEntee announced plans for a "very bottom up" WH '08 endorsement process. Sweeney said the group will "involve union members more broadly than ever before" to make sure candidates are "listening to working people." Sweeney: "We are asking each of our unions to reach deep into their membership and provide opportunities for working people to evaluate all the candidates." The "blueprint" of the endorsement process will focus on:
- Engaging members in broad discussion
- Organizing a series of grassroots issue forums
- Hosting a series of discussions on candidates
- Utilizing interactive, online resources for members to share ideas, help make decisions and give feedback
Following a major candidate forum in Chicago, IL, Aug. '07, the Exec. Council will convene at their fall meeting to determine whether or not the federation is prepared to endorse a candidate.
McEntee said AFSCME "began" their WH '08 endorsement process with the Pres. forum held in Carson, NV, 2/ 21 but emphasized how they are "not going to act as individual unions" but more so seek to involve members as "messengers" and "activists" to drive the process. He also said he considers the Dem WH '08 field the "best he's ever seen" and that the candidates "are diverse as they are talented, good for the Democratic Party and America."
The AFL-CIO endorsement plan also included a resolution that passed unanimously 3/7, charging all 54 nat'l unions within the AFL-CIO to "take no action to endorse any candidate until the General Board of the Federation can make a decision whether or not to endorse a candidate prior to the primaries, and, if so, which candidate to support." According to Sweeney, in '04, individual unions pursued their own primary endorsements rather than as a collective federation. On the whole, the AFL-CIO "failed to drill down far enough" to "the real activist level" sparking the need to develop a more elaborate endorsement "process of substance." However, Sweeney highlighted the success of union candidates in '06 as a sign that the influence of unions will remain strong in the WH '08 election [AMY DUDLEY]
Posted at 03:26 PM
Comments
Since the Teamsters and SEIU pulled out of the AFL, how much influence does AFSCME have in the national endorsment process? Don't they have almost one-fifth of the votes in the new AFL-CIO? Does that mean that the presumed AFSCME favorite, Hillary, has a great shot at winning the AFL endorsment?
JoelFAZ | 03.08.07 06:02 PM
 |
Post a comment
The Watergate · 600 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-739-8400 · fax 202-833-8069
NationalJournal.com is an Atlantic Media publication.
