Following up on past posts about Ralph Nader's candidacy, I'm passing
this news along to the list:
Electrican Union Endorses Nader
The Associated Press
Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2000; 4:14 p.m. EDT
ERIE, Pa. An electrical workers' union voted
Wednesday to endorse
Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader, its
first departure from
backing Democrats.
"We have to become aggressive. If it means not being
popular, so be it,"
said Dennis Crawford, an Erie member of the United
Electrical, Radio and
Machine Workers of America.
Nader spoke to the union's 200 delegates at its 65th
national convention
on Tuesday. The consumer advocate offered himself as
an alternative to
Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, even
though the
Democratic Party has traditionally been labor's
partner in politics.
Of the union's 35,000 members, 3,500 work at GE
Transportation
Systems Inc. in Erie.
The union usually declines to endorse presidential
candidates. Before
Nader, it endorsed only four in its history Franklin
Roosevelt, Lyndon
Johnson, George McGovern and Michael Dukakis.
"We're very excited about the endorsement," said Laura
Jones, a Nader
spokeswoman. "From the California Nurses Association
on the West
Coast to the UE here on the East Coast, there is
growing enthusiasm
among workers and union members all across the country
for this
campaign."
Copyright 2000 The Associated Press
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