Labor

Over 100,000 members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will work on behalf of union-backed campaigns for November's election, and a majority of those will work in support of Barack Obama, the union said today.

"More than 100,000 SEIU members will be volunteering their time to elect a pro-worker majority in Congress and elect Barack Obama as our next president," SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger announced in a press release. Read more...

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) sent a letter to John McCain Tuesday criticizing the Arizona senator for holding a closed-door meeting with Hispanic leaders in Chicago last week.

Calling reports of the meeting "troubling" given McCain's "past sponsorship of amnesty legislation," Tancredo asks McCain if the meeting was a sign that he plans to break his pledge to postpone comprehensive immigration in favor of border security provisions.

Tancredo also urges McCain advocate a security first approach to immigration when he speaks at the National Council of La Raza in July.

"I challenge you to deliver a message to that assembly which does not pander to their amnesty agenda," Tancredo writes. "You should speak to the La Raza convention and to all Hispanic audiences about America's need for secure borders as a priority above all other immigration reforms."

"Senator, you have said many times in recent months, 'I got the message' on border security. Read more...

The Steelworks had endorsed John Edwards, but following the Edwards endorsement Barack Obama gets the powerful union.

John McCain today said he would withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of his first term as president.

Speaking in Columbus, Ohio, McCain laid out an agenda for accomplishments by the end of his first term. Also among them were: the Taliban's resurgence reduced with Pakistan's help; discontinuation of nuclear programs in Russia, China, and North Korea;

Following his win last night in North Carolina, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) claimed today that Barack Obama is the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee.

SEIU endorsed Obama Feb. 15 and has worked to bolster support for him in the Democratic race. According to SEIU, its members have gone door to door and made phone calls for Obama, and SEIU has aired pro-Obama ads on television (see the union's Indiana ad here). SEIU claims 1.95 million members nationwide.

UPDATED Wed. May 7, 6:27 p.m.: AFSCME spokesman Gregory King told The Hill he has learned that AFSCME's Indiana affiliate disseminated the leaflet.

Change to Win, a coalition of seven unions, accused the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) today of deceiving its Indiana workers with a pro-Hillary Clinton leaflet, while AFSCME spokesmen say the leaflet is news to them.

The two groups are on opposite sides of the Democratic nomination fight, as AFSCME endorsed Clinton in October while Change to Win endorsed Barack Obama Feb. 21. Change to Win's affiliates include the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has organized door-to-door campaigning and phone banking for Obama in Indiana, and has aired a pro-Obama ad on Indiana television.

Change to Win claims AFSCME disseminated a pro-Clinton leaflet, bearing the message "brought to you by your union" and not containing any AFSCME identification, to Change to Win union members in Indiana.

"It's a shame that the discourse of the Democratic presidential primary campaign has sunk to the point of lying to our union brothers and sisters on the eve of the Indiana primary election," Change to Win Executive Director Greg Tarpinian said today in a statement.

"These deplorable and dishonest tactics undermine our democratic process and the hard work of thousands of Change to Win and other union members and volunteers working tirelessly to help make Sen. Barack Obama the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee. We expect these types of deplorable tactics from the McCain campaign, not AFSCME."

AFSCME denies Change to Win's claim, and its spokesman say they haven't seen or heard of such a leaflet. AFSCME has only disseminated leaflets to its own members in Indiana, they say, and AFSCME always identifies itself on leaflets for its members.

"We haven

Hillary Clinton put out a statement this morning honoring the 81st anniversary of Cesar Chavez's birthday, and hours later Obama went one step further, calling for March 31 to be designated a national holiday in Chavez's honor.

"Under his leadership -- highlighted by nonviolent protest -- thousands of farmers across the country were able to secure improved wages and benefits, humane living and working conditions, and better job security," Clinton said. "Through his lifetime of service, he has paved the way for many, and provided inspiration for countless others."

The United Farm Workers, the union formed under Chavez's leadership in1966, endorsed Clinton for president in January. But it was Obama to call for a national holiday honoring Chavez. Read more...