Seattle Press on Line - Nader Picks up Some Labor Endorsements

Nader Picks up Some Labor Endorsements

Sep 19, 2000 -- But Most Unions are Solid for Gore

Some significant defections from Seattle Labor's usually solid support of the democratic national ticket have taken place in the last few days.

Teamsters Local 174 endorsed the Green Party candidate at its membership meeting September 10. Local 174 has 7,000 members, including in sanitation, freight, warehouse and UPS workers.

The Teamsters local is the third largest labor union in the nation to endorse Nader, after the United Electrical Workers International Union and the California Nurses Association.

The Greater Seattle Area Postal Workers has also endorsed Nader.

Local 174 Secretary Treasurer Bob Hasegawa told members of his union, "From an average worker's perspective, based solely on pocketbook considerations, neither the Democratic nor Republican parties seem to promote workers' interests. Rather, they focus more on corporate well-being. Both parties want to sell out our democracy to an unelected, corporate-controlled World Trade Organization which subjugates all our laws to corporate greed."

Steve Sanders, president of United Transportation Workers Local 324 which represents Burlington Northern workers, spoke in favor of the Nader candidacy at a "Which Way for Labor Forum" sponsored by the Labor Party Seattle Chapter, held at the Labor Temple September 13. Sanders cited the words of Eugene Debs, socialist party presidential candidate in the early part of the last century: "It's better to vote for something you want and not get it, than to vote for something you don't want and get it."

Steve Williamson, executive secretary of the King County Labor Council, spoke in support of the vice president Al Gore. He told the Labor Forum, "Real workers will get hurt if Bush is elected and a vote for Nader will help Bush. With Gore we can be on the offensive rather than on the defensive."

Other speakers at the forum included Ivan King supporting Socialist Party candidate David McReynolds and Jim McMahen for Workers World Party candidate Monica Morehead.

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