Obama courts labor vote in Michigan

Thu, May 15, 2008    to del.icio.us

WARREN — Vivian Johnson proudly wore her United Auto Workers jacket to hear Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama speak on Wednesday.

She was one of the only people outwardly representing one of the largest unions in North America, even as Obama outlined his hopes and plans for the revival of the troubled domestic auto industry. And even as many proudly displayed their allegiance to the Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers, and other labor groups that have endorsed Obama.

Johnson walked into the town hall at Macomb Community College north of Detroit uncommitted — just as the UAW has not endorsed either Obama or his rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. But unlike her national union, she left with her mind made up.

"I'm off the fence now, so to speak," said Johnson, 42, of Local 372, which represents workers at Chrysler LLC's Trenton engine plant. She's the chair of the local's Community Action Program, which handles the union's political activities.

"He was really saying a lot of things I've been waiting for him to say."

She said as the UAW has lost membership and some of its "money and might" over the years, she believes it's important now for the official endorsement to wait for a bona fide nominee.

An e-mail and phone message were left Wednesday afternoon by The Associated Press for UAW spokesman Roger Kerson.

But UAW leaders have said they will back either Clinton or Obama for the White House, and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in early February that both candidates would protect manufacturing jobs and expand health care coverage for workers.

Obama told The Associated Press after the town hall meeting that he wasn't concerned by the union's sparse turnout.

"Since they haven't officially endorsed, they probably don't want to plant the flag in such a conspicuous way," he said. "The folks at UAW are going to be concerned about what working men and women across the board are concerned with. Health care that's becoming unaffordable, a lack of pension security, jobs being shipped overseas, rising costs of everything from gas to a gallon of milk.

"Those are the issues we've talked about in this campaign ... I think they'll have confidence that this is the guy we need in the White House.

Obama said he has been endorsed by the UAW's Region 4, which represents Iowa and his home state of Illinois.

"Once we get through the primary, I'm confident we can secure that (national) endorsement," he said.

Obama said during Wednesday's event that the heavy loss of manufacturing jobs is one of the nation's greatest struggles, but offered hope that attention and investment from Washington can help turn around the troubled domestic auto industry.

"I'm running for president to make sure cars of the future are made where they've always been made, right here in Michigan," Obama told an invitation-only crowd of about 200. "The fight for American manufacturing is the fight for America's future. And I believe it's the fight that America will win."

He repeated his criticisms about the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA, which expanded trade among the U.S., Canada and Mexico, eliminating most tariffs on a wide range of products from agriculture to cars to computers.

Obama and Clinton have threatened to pull the U.S. out of NAFTA or renegotiate it to push for more protections for workers and the environment. Republican candidate Sen. John McCain supports it.

"I won't stand here and tell you ... we're going to stop every job from going overseas, (but) we can stop giving Bush tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas," Obama said Wednesday. "Give tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in America."

The Warren town hall meeting followed a tour of a Chrysler stamping plant in nearby Sterling Heights. He also attended an evening rally in Grand Rapids, where he stumped before an adoring, younger-skewing capacity crowd of 12,000 people at Van Andel Arena.

Unlike earlier in the day, his 30-minute speech dealt little with issues specific to Michigan. Just moments into it, he surprised the audience by introducing former presidential candidate John Edwards, who showed up to endorse Obama's campaign.

"The reason that I'm here tonight is that the Democratic voters of America have made their choice, and so have I," said Edwards, a former North Carolina senator.

Kent County Republicans marked the occasion of Obama's visit by releasing an Internet video ad that was critical of his stances on key issues.

Grand Rapids resident Daniel Mosier, 27, who works in marketing, said afterward it's possible that Obama, whom he supports, could carry conservative western Michigan. It would depend on whether John McCain, the pre-emptive Republican presidential candidate, chooses conservative Mitt Romney, a Michigan native, to be his running mate.

Meanwhile, two previously uncommitted Michigan superdelegates endorsed Obama on Wednesday: Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and College Democrats of America President Lauren Wolfe.

Clinton has the backing of seven Michigan superdelegates, while Obama has the backing of at least three. Michigan has 27 superdelegates, and two more will be chosen next month.

While he has criticized the Detroit Three automakers in the past for their slow pace of change, Obama said Wednesday they have been showing leadership in recent years.

"We are taking steps in the right direction. American automakers are on the move. But we have to do more," he said.

He said the automakers will have a "partner in the White House" if he is elected. He also said he would arrange a meeting with domestic auto executives right after taking office.

Obama said the central issue in this election is the "fight to make the economy fair again." He said the nation needs to choose the candidate who "can restore a sense of fairness and economic growth for everyone."

Johnson said even without an official UAW endorsement, she knows many members already support Obama despite some initial reluctance when he came down hard on the industry. She expects many more will come out in their union garb at Obama events if he wins the nomination.

"I suspect the more Mr. Obama decides to speak to our issues, the more he'll be able to sway more of us to his cause," she said. "We'll be there in any and every way we can to make sure ... he carries the day."

Associated Press writer James Prichard in Grand Rapids contributed to this report.