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Howard Dean Likely to Receive Major Union Endorsement

Aired October 30, 2003 - 15:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Democratic hopeful Howard Dean could soon pick up the support of the largest union in the AFL-CIO. A final decision has not been made. But the president of the Service Employees International Union says it looks like Dean has won over the group's 1.6 million members. President Andy Stern and other union officers meet this afternoon with Wesley Clark.
But, in a statement, Sterns says -- quote -- "It is becoming clear that the passion of the members lies with Governor Dean, and that, ultimately, the decision before the board will be to either endorse him or endorse no one." A Dean endorsement would be a major disappointment for Dick Gephardt, who has counted on strong support from big labor.

For more on this dynamic among the Democrats, especially the competition for the union vote, I'm joined by Steve Rosenthal. He's former political director of the AFL-CIO, now the leader of an organization called America Coming Together.

The largest union in the AFL-CIO is poised to endorse Howard Dean. Good for Dean, awful for Dick Gephardt?

STEVE ROSENTHAL, AMERICA COMING TOGETHER: Good nor Dean, not good for Dick Gephardt. The fact of the matter is that the Service Employees is a very good union, very aggressive. They do great work on the ground in mobilizing voters. So, certainly, it will help the Dean campaign. And they bring a lot more to the table.

KING: What about early contests, Iowa, New Hampshire? You move on from there. Service Employees in those places?

ROSENTHAL: Sure.

In Iowa, in the 2000 caucuses, a third of the votes that were cast in the caucuses came from union households. In New Hampshire, believe it or not, a quarter of the votes cast came form union household. SEIU is the biggest union in New Hampshire. They also organize very well, have put the health care issue front and center in both of those states. They represent a lot of health care workers.

So, in fact it's a very good thing. In terms of Gephardt, he's got a lot of union support, too. There are some 20 unions supporting Gephardt, and a number of them very big, strong unions that will put together big campaigns on the ground in those states for him.

KING: Gephardt getting mostly the support of the traditional manufacturing unions, blue-collar unions. I want to show you, this is the cover of the "International Association of Machinists." They endorse Dick Gephardt in this magazine. If you look at this cover, it says "Face Off." And it shows Dick Gephardt and Howard Dean.

If I were going against you in a contest and I won, I would not want the organization to give us shared billing on the cover. Does that show to you a lack of enthusiasm for Gephardt?

ROSENTHAL: I don't think it's a lack of enthusiasm. I think the machinists feel pretty strongly and passionately about Gephardt's campaign. Maybe what they're trying to say is that Dean's been getting a lot of attention, the members are seeing Dean's face a lot. And maybe what they're trying to say is, this is really a two-way race and trying to make sure their members understand that they really need to get out there, if they support Gephardt the way they do.

KING: Are we learning something in the divide here, the Service Employees, a white-collar union, if you will, the manufacturers going with Gephardt, the Service Employees holding out? One of the reasons the AFL could not endorse is that the other big government employees unions were not ready to do so. Do we have a split in the labor movement about Gephardt and a split over whether an endorsement in the primaries is worthwhile?

ROSENTHAL: An endorsement by the AFL-CIO is a rarity. People tend to think, because the AFL-CIO endorsed in 2000 early for Al Gore, that it's common. In fact, only twice, once for Walter Mondale and once for Dick Gephardt did the AFL-CIO endorse.

In every other presidential year, unions went their own and endorsed whichever candidate they supported. So I think we're likely to see a situation here where different unions go different ways. And, in fact, for whoever they support, they'll bring a fair amount to the table for that candidate.

KING: We're almost got an time. But the 7.2 economic growth in the third quarter, should a Democratic candidate be worried about this president's strength on the economy growing?

ROSENTHAL: I think we saw a bit of an uptick on the economy right now. But the fact of the matter is, go talk to votes, talk to workers in Ohio, in Michigan, in Pennsylvania, in the industrial heartland. Ask them what's going on with the economy. Ask them what's going on with their jobs. Ask them what this administration has done. They'll tell you nothing.

The fact of the matter is, this administration has turned a deaf ear to the industrial heartland. And I think that that's going to play out in the election.

KING: We'll watch that in the months ahead.

Steve Rosenthal, thank you very much for joining us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 30, 2003 - 15:22   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Democratic hopeful Howard Dean could soon pick up the support of the largest union in the AFL-CIO. A final decision has not been made. But the president of the Service Employees International Union says it looks like Dean has won over the group's 1.6 million members. President Andy Stern and other union officers meet this afternoon with Wesley Clark.
But, in a statement, Sterns says -- quote -- "It is becoming clear that the passion of the members lies with Governor Dean, and that, ultimately, the decision before the board will be to either endorse him or endorse no one." A Dean endorsement would be a major disappointment for Dick Gephardt, who has counted on strong support from big labor.

For more on this dynamic among the Democrats, especially the competition for the union vote, I'm joined by Steve Rosenthal. He's former political director of the AFL-CIO, now the leader of an organization called America Coming Together.

The largest union in the AFL-CIO is poised to endorse Howard Dean. Good for Dean, awful for Dick Gephardt?

STEVE ROSENTHAL, AMERICA COMING TOGETHER: Good nor Dean, not good for Dick Gephardt. The fact of the matter is that the Service Employees is a very good union, very aggressive. They do great work on the ground in mobilizing voters. So, certainly, it will help the Dean campaign. And they bring a lot more to the table.

KING: What about early contests, Iowa, New Hampshire? You move on from there. Service Employees in those places?

ROSENTHAL: Sure.

In Iowa, in the 2000 caucuses, a third of the votes that were cast in the caucuses came from union households. In New Hampshire, believe it or not, a quarter of the votes cast came form union household. SEIU is the biggest union in New Hampshire. They also organize very well, have put the health care issue front and center in both of those states. They represent a lot of health care workers.

So, in fact it's a very good thing. In terms of Gephardt, he's got a lot of union support, too. There are some 20 unions supporting Gephardt, and a number of them very big, strong unions that will put together big campaigns on the ground in those states for him.

KING: Gephardt getting mostly the support of the traditional manufacturing unions, blue-collar unions. I want to show you, this is the cover of the "International Association of Machinists." They endorse Dick Gephardt in this magazine. If you look at this cover, it says "Face Off." And it shows Dick Gephardt and Howard Dean.

If I were going against you in a contest and I won, I would not want the organization to give us shared billing on the cover. Does that show to you a lack of enthusiasm for Gephardt?

ROSENTHAL: I don't think it's a lack of enthusiasm. I think the machinists feel pretty strongly and passionately about Gephardt's campaign. Maybe what they're trying to say is that Dean's been getting a lot of attention, the members are seeing Dean's face a lot. And maybe what they're trying to say is, this is really a two-way race and trying to make sure their members understand that they really need to get out there, if they support Gephardt the way they do.

KING: Are we learning something in the divide here, the Service Employees, a white-collar union, if you will, the manufacturers going with Gephardt, the Service Employees holding out? One of the reasons the AFL could not endorse is that the other big government employees unions were not ready to do so. Do we have a split in the labor movement about Gephardt and a split over whether an endorsement in the primaries is worthwhile?

ROSENTHAL: An endorsement by the AFL-CIO is a rarity. People tend to think, because the AFL-CIO endorsed in 2000 early for Al Gore, that it's common. In fact, only twice, once for Walter Mondale and once for Dick Gephardt did the AFL-CIO endorse.

In every other presidential year, unions went their own and endorsed whichever candidate they supported. So I think we're likely to see a situation here where different unions go different ways. And, in fact, for whoever they support, they'll bring a fair amount to the table for that candidate.

KING: We're almost got an time. But the 7.2 economic growth in the third quarter, should a Democratic candidate be worried about this president's strength on the economy growing?

ROSENTHAL: I think we saw a bit of an uptick on the economy right now. But the fact of the matter is, go talk to votes, talk to workers in Ohio, in Michigan, in Pennsylvania, in the industrial heartland. Ask them what's going on with the economy. Ask them what's going on with their jobs. Ask them what this administration has done. They'll tell you nothing.

The fact of the matter is, this administration has turned a deaf ear to the industrial heartland. And I think that that's going to play out in the election.

KING: We'll watch that in the months ahead.

Steve Rosenthal, thank you very much for joining us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com