Today the Iowa Postal Union announced its support for John Edwards for President. Here's the full press release. The union represents 3000 postal workers throughout all 99 counties of Iowa and is the state-wide branch of the AFL-CIO-affiliated American Postal Workers Union.
Join me over the fold for the details.
Postal workers in Iowa understand John's commitment not only to union members (and all Americans), but his willingness to take on the special interests that keep hard-working people from getting a fair shake. Here's what they had to say today in endorsing Edwards:
"We are proud to endorse John Edwards for president because of his unparalleled commitment to strengthening America’s workers and helping them organize across the country," said Iowa Postal Workers President Bruce Clark. "For too long, Washington has ignored working Americans and George Bush has actively worked to weaken workers’ rights in America. John Edwards is far and away the strongest candidate to win the White House, take on the special interests and stand up for hard-working Americans. While any of the Democrats running would be preferable to any of the Republicans for working people, only John Edwards has taken clear, specific stands on labor rights, health care, trade, working to end poverty and all the issues so vital to all the workers of America."
And Edwards' response:
"I am honored to receive the support of the Iowa Postal Workers Union," said Edwards. "My mother worked in the postal service, so I know firsthand the values and hard work that this union stands for. Postal workers play a critical role in the day-to-day life of our country and they deserve our gratitude. I look forward to joining with the Iowa Postal Workers Union to bring about the big, bold change America desperately needs."
And don't be fooled by the relatively low number of members in the Iowa Postal Union. As anyone who has ever lived in a small town or rural area knows (and Iowa has a lot of both), postal workers know EVERYONE. Edwards has just gained a 3000 member army of get out the vote good will ambassadors present in every one of Iowa's 99 counties to help him win the primary. You can't buy that kind of public relations, combined with the right candidate.
And as the press release notes, they are going to have a lot of union friends helping out, right around 3 million:
The Iowa Postal Workers Union joins Iowa SEIU and nine other SEIU State Councils, the United Steelworkers, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, the Mine Workers Union and the Transport Workers Union in supporting Edwards’ campaign for change. These unions will work to share Edwards’ ideas to change America with caucus goers across the state.
So looks like the ground game just got a lot more interesting. And if there is anything John Edwards learned from 2004 in Iowa, its how to run a damn good ground game especially as things tighten up.
I'll leave you with a nice video from the recent SEIU endorsement of Edwards by 10 state councils: