The diary links to a story in the Des Moines Register that explains the situation. Here's the money quote:
Today, Iowa AFSCME members Phyllis Thede – a former local president – and Angie Barnes will join Henry Bayer, Executive Director of AFSCME Council 31 on a press conference call at 12:30 p.m.
There you have it. AFSCME in Iowa has 30,000 members, making it reportedly the largest union in the state (with six times the members of SEIU in Iowa).
And three AFSCME members have called a press conference to disavow. And one of three is not even from Iowa. He is the Executive Director of the Illinois State Council of AFSCME (31). That leaves two Iowa members. One is not identified, and thus presumably is not currently or previously an elected official, just a member. The other was a past president of a local. Now, there are 230 locals listed on the AFSCME Iowa site. Not a single elected official from one of the 230 unions is listed as participating in the press conference. Rather, one former official and one rank and file member -- out of 30,000 member in the whole state.
Of course I don't doubt that there are others who share their view. Perhaps more will show up at the press conference. But it takes a fair amount of chutzpah to claim this as evidence that Iowa AFSCME disavows HRC.
Well, what then is the stand of Iowa AFSCME? It's pretty easy to find out. Just go to their Website and you'll see four big headlines:
President Clinton to Visit Iowa on December 21st
The Register's caucus endorsements: Hillary Clinton
By the numbers, Clinton wins the labor battle
Hillary Clinton Cosponsors Legislation to Improve Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program
Plus, there are several other major headline links with information about about why and how to caucus for her. The bottom line: Far from disavowing Hillary Clinton, Iowa AFSCME is going all out in her support.
One final comment. I vowed in my comments on my last diary to try to keep it positive on this site. And I hope this fits in with that. Nothing above is meant to attack or even criticize other candidates. I believe that all of the Democratic candidates have a pro-labor record. I also, believe though, that labor recognizes that their best candidate for achieving the change they need is Hillary Clinton. That is why so many unions are supporting her, including both national AFSCME and its Iowa Council. And the record needed to be set straight about that.
Comments are closed on this story.