October 30, 2007

Service Employees International Union carries in Democratic politics

For an idea of the influence that the Service Employees International Union carries in Democratic politics, consider that former President Bill Clinton phoned a 17-member committee of the union’s New Hampshire operation last Monday to extol his wife’s record on issues that are important to the labor movement. Mr. Clinton’s seven-minute pitch was just one way in which the Democratic presidential candidates are courting that 1.9 million-member union, whose financial and organizational clout are much-sought prizes not just in the race for the White House but also in Congressional and state contests. While the national union has not endorsed a presidential candidate, its state councils have been freed to do so.

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