Labor Endorsements in the Race for the 2004 Democratic Nomination
 
 

Gephardt's Play

Organized labor provided the cornerstone of Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt's bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.  From April through November 2003 he garnered endorsements of 21 international unions (20 AFL-CIO affiliates) ranging from the 1.4 million member Teamsters and the million member UFCW to the obscure International Union of Journeymen Horseshoers & Allied Trades.  However support of four of the more active internationals--Fire Fighters (Kerry, Sept. 24), Painters (Dean, Oct. 27), Service Employees (Dean, Nov. 12) and AFSCME (Dean, Nov. 12)--eluded Gephardt, as did the hoped for endorsement of the AFL-CIO itself.

In addition to the independent efforts of some of these unions in support of Gephardt's candidacy, many of them joined forces in October to form the Alliance for Economic Justice, which worked closely with Gephardt's campaign.

AFL-CIO Affiliated National Unions
Transport Workers
TWU Organization: International President Sonny Hall; International Executive Vice President Michael O'Brien; International Secretary Treasurer John J. Kerrigan.  International Headquarters: New York.
On November 20, 2003 the Transport Workers Union of America endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  TWU represents 125,000 transportation and allied workers nationwide.
International Longshoremen's Association
ILA Organization: International President John Bowers; Secretary-Treasurer Robert E. Gleason; Executive Vice President Albert Cernadas; General Vice President Benny Holland Jr.; General Organizer Gerald Owens; Assistant General Organizer Harold J. Daggett; 25 Vice Presidents.
On October 24, 2003 the International Longshoremen's Association endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President. The ILA represents 60,000 waterfront workers at ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, the Great Lakes region, major U.S. rivers, Puerto Rico and Eastern Canada.  ILA affiliated Masters, Mates and Pilots represent maritime workers on both coasts. 
International Union of Journeymen Horseshoers & Allied Trades
IUJAT Organization: International President S. Richard Elliott.
On October 15, 2003 the International Union of Journeymen Horseshoers & Allied Trades, claiming more than 75,000 active and retired members, endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.
Food and Commercial Workers
UFCW Organization: President Douglas H. Dority and Secretary-Treasurer Joseph T. Hansen. The International Executive Committee consists of the two officers and three Executive Vice Presidents.  There is an Executive Board comprising about 80 or 90 leaders including local union presidents, regional directors, council representatives, and headquarters directors.
On October 11, 2003 the United Food and Commercial Workers Union endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President. The UFCW is the largest private sector union with one million members nationwide in a wide variety of industries including health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile and chemical trades, and retail food. [press release]
MEBA
MEBA Organization: President Ron Davis.
The Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  MEBA, the nation's oldest maritime labor union, represents 30,000 licensed engine and deck officers aboard seagoing vessels, ferries and government-contracted ships.
BCTGM
BCTGM Organization: International President Frank Hurt; International Secretary-Treasurer/Director of Organization David B.
Durkee; International Executive Vice President Joseph Thibodeau; International Executive Vice President: Larry Barber. 
On October 8, 2003 the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  The BCTGM represents more than 120,000 workers in food and consumer products industries throughout the United States and Canada.
Amalgamated Transit Union
ATU Organization: International President Warren S. George, International Executive Vice President Michael J. Siano, International Secretary-Treasurer Oscar Owens.
On October 1, 2003 the Amalgamated Transit Union endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  ATU is the largest labor organization representing transit workers in North America.  Comprised of over 180,000 members in over 273 local unions, the ATU includes bus, subway, light rail and ferry operators, clerks, baggage handlers, mechanics and others in the urban transit, over-the-road, and school bus industries, as well as paratransit, emergency medical, clerical, and municipal workers.
Laborers
LIUNA Organization: General President Terence M. O'Sullivan and General Secretary-Treasurer Armand E. Sabitoni. The General Executive Board includes the two officers and 14 Vice Presidents.
On September 23, 2003 nearly 1,000 Laborers’ leaders, activists and rank-and-file members gathered in Chicago for several of the union’s annual conferences voted overwhelmingly to endorse Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  LIUNA represents more than 800,000 workers in building and highway construction, hazardous materials, public service and health care.  Gephardt spoke to the Laborers and received the endorsement on the morning of September 24.
Plasterers and Cement Masons
OPCMIA Organization: General President John Dougherty and General Secretary-Treasurer Patrick D. Finley.  The General Executive Board consists of the two officers, an Executive Vice President, and 5 Vice Presidents.
On September 22, 2003 the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association (OPCMIA), representing 50,000 workers in  including plastering, cement masonry and other industries throughout the U.S. and Canada, announced its endorsement of Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.
PACE
PACE Organization: International President Boyd Young, Secretary-Treasurer James H. Dunn.  15-person Executive Board.  PACE is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.
On August 20, 2003 the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union, the fourth largest manufacturing union in the AFL-CIO, representing 300,000 workers in the pulp, paper, oil, chemical, industrial, auto supply, atomic and mining sectors, announced its endorsement of Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  The announcement was made in Las Vegas during PACE's first constitutional convention since the merger of the United Paperworkers International Union and the Oil, Chemical, & Atomic Workers Union in January 1999.  Before the convention, during the week of Aug. 11, the union's executive board and the rank-and-file advisory board held meetings and endorsed Gephardt.  PACE also polled its locals at the convention and 98 percent endorsed Gephardt.
Teamsters
Teamsters Organization:  Executive Officers are General President James P. Hoffa and General Secretary-Treasurer C. Thomas “Tom” Keegel.  The General Executive Board consists of 22 Vice Presidents geographically located or at-large. There are 521 Teamsters locals in North America.
On August 9, 2003 the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing 1.4 million members, announced its endorsement of Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  Teamster's President James P. Hoffa appeared with Gephardt at rallies in Detroit, MI, Des Moines, IA and Manschester, NH.
Steelworkers
Steelworkers Organization: Leo W. Gerard is International President; Andrew V. Palm is International Vice President (Administration); Leon Lynch is International Vice President (Human Affairs); and James D. English is International Secretary-Treasurer.  The International Executive Board comprises 19 officials including the four officers, a National Director for Canada, directors of 12 geographic districts.  Thre are over 2,000 affiliated local unions in North America.
On August 5, 2003 the United Steelworkers of America, representing 700,000 members (1.2 million active and retired members) announced its endorsement of Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  The announcement was made at an event in Chicago in conjunction with the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting there.  USWA first surveyed activist members through its Rapid Response network and the Executive Board then voted unanimously on August 4 to issue the endorsement.
Seafarers
Seafarers Organization: Michael Sacco is President; John Fay is Executive Vice President; David W. Heindel is Secretary Treasurer.  These three officers are part of a 12-person Executive Board.  [Sacco is also President of the Maritime Trades Department of the AFL-CIO and he happens to be a longtime resident of Gephardt's congressional district].
On July 31, 2003 the Seafarers International Union, Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, representing 80,000 members, including unlicensed United States merchant mariners sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels in the deep sea, Great Lakes and inland trades as well as licensed U.S. mariners in the Great Lakes and inland sectors, announced its endorsement of Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  (The independent national American Maritime Officers joined in the announcement, done in a conference call; the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association-AFL-CIO had been scheduled to participate as well but did not make it).
IATSE
IATSE Organization: Thomas C. Short is International President; James B. Wood is General Secretary-Treasurer.  The General Executive Board includes these officers, 2 emeriti officers, and 13 Vice Presidents. 
On July 29, 2003 the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, representing over 100,000 members employed in the stagecraft, motion picture and television production, and trade shows industries throughout the United States, its territories and Canada, announced its endorsement of Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  The announcement came at IATSE's mid-summer board meeting at the Essex House in New York.  [press release]
Machinists
Machinists Organization: The Executive Council consists of International President R. Thomas Buffenbarger, General Secretary-Treasurer Donald E. Wharton, and 7 General Vice Presidents.
On July 11, 2003 the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, representing nearly 720,000 active and retired union members in aerospace, air transport and manufacturing in North America, endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  The endorsement came in a vote by nearly 700 elected leaders of the IAM at the union's national staff conference in Cincinnati, OH.  [press release]
Boilermakers
Boilermakers Organization: Charles W. Jones is International President; Jerry Z. Willburn is International Secretary Treasurer.  The union's Legislative Education Action Program (LEAP) committee comprises the President, Secretary Treasurer, and the U.S. (7) and Canadian vice presidents.
On June 23, 2003 the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, representing over 100,000 workers in the United States and Canada, endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  The LEAP committee made the unanimous endorsement following a straw poll of members.
OPEIU
OPEIU Organization: Michael Goodwin is the International President.
On June 9, 2003 the  Office and Professional Employees International Union, representing 150,000 members--private and public sector professional and semiprofessional workers--in the United States and Canada, endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President. [press release]
BMWE
BMWE Organization: Mac A. Fleming is President; Freddie N. Simpson is Secretary Treasurer.
On June 5, 2003 the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, a Southfield, Michigan-based union representing about 40,000 workers who maintain railbed of train tracks in United States and Canada, endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President. [press release]
Bricklayers
BAC Organization: The Executive Board consists of five officers: President John J. Flynn, the Secretary-Treasurer, and three Executive Vice Presidents.  The Executive Council, the Union's highest advisory body, comprises the Executive Board (5), Regional Vice Presidents from BAC's ten Regions in the U.S. and Canada (27), IU Regional Directors (10), Craft Vice Presidents (7), and At-Large Members (10).
On May 21, 2003 the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, representing more than 100,000 skilled masonry workers in North America, endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  The endorsement was made in a resolution approved by a unanimous vote of the BAC Executive Council on May 20 during its spring meeting.
Iron Workers
Iron Workers Organization: General President Joe Hunt, General Secretary Michael Fitzpatrick, and General Treasurer Dennis Toney.  The Executive Council includes the three officers and eight vice presidents.
On April 9, 2003 the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (Iron Workers), with over 135,000 members in North America, endorsed Rep. Dick Gephardt for President, becoming the first international to endorse a candidate.  The actual endorsement was made in a resolution approved at the meeting of the union's General Executive Council on March 17, 2003.

Independent National Unions
American Maritime Officers
AMO Organization: Michael R. McKay is National President.  The union is headquartered in Dania Beach, FL.
On July 31, 2003 the American Maritime Officers, an independent national union representing 4,000 licensed officers in all sectors of the U.S.-flag merchant fleet, including ocean-going, Great Lakes and inland waters commercial, military support and cruise vessels, announced its endorsement of Rep. Dick Gephardt for President.  (The Seafarers International Union-AFL-CIO joined in the announcement).

State and Locals
United Automotive, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers (UAW) Western CAP Council (represents 120,000 members in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii)  ...announced Dec. 22, 2003

Northeastern Oklahoma Labor Council (NOLC), a consortium of more than 20 unions in northeastern Oklahoma, affiliated with the AFL-CIO  ...announced Dec. 16, 2003

Oklahoma UAW (more than 7,000 retired and active members; Judy Calhoun, President, Oklahoma UAW Community Action Program (CAP) Council)  ...announced Dec. 2, 2003

Missouri UAW (42,000 retired and active members; Stan Morgan, President of Missouri State UAW PAC Council)  ...announced Nov. 19, 2003

UAW Region 3 (75,000 active members and 55,000 retirees in Kentucky and Indiana; Terry Thurman, Director)  ...announced Nov. 17, 2003

Greater Kansas City (MO) AFL-CIO (Bridgette Williams, President)  ...announced Nov. 14, 2003

Iowa UAW [more formally: the Iowa State Community Action Program Council (CAP) of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)] (David Neil, President of Iowa CAP Council)  ...announced Nov. 12, 2003

Oklahoma Building and Construction Trades Council (13 affiliated local labor unions; represents 10,000 members; Jimmy Fish, President) ...announced Nov. 11, 2003

Missouri National Education Association ...announced Nov. 6, 2003

Iowa Local 234 of the International Union of Operating Engineers (2,300 members) ...announced Oct. 27, 2003

New Mexico Building Trades Council, AFL-CIO (17 affiliated local labor unions; Rudy Zamora, Executive Director) ...announced Oct. 23, 2003

New Hampshire Building and Construction Trades Council (18 affiliated local labor unions; 3,000 members) ...announced Sept. 25, 2003

Missouri Building and Construction Trades Council
 
 

Copyright © 2003, 2004  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.