Iowa First Lady Mari Culver endorses John Edwards for President

Endorsement Builds on Edwards’ Growing Momentum in Iowa

Des Moines, Iowa – On the last day of his "Main Street Express" bus tour and following a widely praised debate performance, today Senator John Edwards will receive the endorsement of Iowa First Lady Mari Culver. Culver believes Edwards’ lifetime of fighting for those without a voice makes him the best candidate to stand up for America’s families and bring change to America. Culver’s endorsement adds to Edwards’ growing momentum in the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Edwards recently was endorsed by Congressman Bruce Braley and continues to gain support from community leaders and undecided caucus goers.

"With all the challenges facing our country, we need a leader who will fight for our families," said Culver. "I am proud to endorse John Edwards for President. John has spent his career standing up for children and families in their hour of need. I admire his commitment to speaking out for those who have no voice and look forward to working with him to make sure children here in Iowa and across the country are safe and secure and have the opportunity to realize their dreams."

"I am honored to have Mari’s support," said Edwards. "She has been a passionate advocate on behalf of families and children in crises. Her commitment to helping the less fortunate is exactly the kind of the leadership America so desperately needs. With Mari’s help and the help of the people of Iowa, we can build the One America we believe in."

Culver’s support adds to Edwards’ strength in Iowa. He has strong grassroots organizations in all 99 Iowa counties. He also enjoys the support of Caucus for Priorities, which represents 10,000 Iowa caucus goers. Edwards has the support of numerous labor groups who are actively working to put him in the White House. He has been endorsed by the Iowa State Council of the SEIU and 11 other SEIU state councils representing more than a million SEIU members. Additionally, he has been endorsed by the Iowa Postal Workers Union, the United Steelworkers, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, the Transport Workers Union of America, the United Mine Workers of America and the UNITE HERE Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board.

Culver will join Edwards today at his “Main Street Express” bus tour finale events in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport. During the eight-day tour, Edwards has been highlighting his plans to fight for regular families like the ones he grew up with in his small, rural hometown.


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Edwards passes 3.1 million mark in support from labor

North Carolina Association of Educators picks Edwards as the candidate with the strength and vision to compete in battleground states and bring real change to Washington

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) announced its endorsement of John Edwards for president sending Edwards over the 3.1 million member mark in union support. The NCAE, which represents 70,000 teachers, education support professionals and retirees, has endorsed Edwards every time he has run for public office. They supported Edwards’ Senate run in 1998 and, after endorsing him in the 2004 presidential primary, NCAE members traveled to early states to organize other teachers to vote for Edwards.

"We need a leader with the strength and vision to compete in battleground states like North Carolina," said Eddie Davis, president of NCAE. "John Edwards is the candidate who shares our values, understands our issues and offers real and bold solutions. Edwards’ comprehensive education plans borrow from some of the best reform practices we have here in North Carolina- involving expert educators in school reforms and supporting Smart Start, which coordinates education, health care and family support services for children before they enter school. He also understands that teachers, not tests, are the single most important factor in successful schools and has introduced plans to radically overhaul No Child Left Behind, increase incentives for teachers in high-poverty schools, and improve training and mentoring programs for teachers. The greatest challenges to our schools are addressing the needs of children and families who live in poverty. John’s focus on the underserved is meaningful to our members."

"I am honored to receive the endorsement of the NCAE," said Edwards. "Education is an issue that’s very personal to me. I came from a small town in rural North Carolina, but I had public school teachers who taught me to believe I could do just about anything if I worked hard and played by the rules. So I understand why it’s so critical that we fix our education system and make sure that every child in America has the same opportunity to succeed that I had."

In September, Edwards unveiled his plan for "Restoring the Promise of American Schools" based on three guiding principles: every child should be prepared to succeed when they show up in the classroom; every classroom should be led by an excellent teacher; and every teacher should work in an outstanding school. To meet these principles, Edwards proposed a national "Great Promise" partnership to give a quality early childhood education to every four-year-old in the country and the creation of a national "Smart Start" program to improve child care and invest in child health. To help teachers achieve excellence, Edwards proposed reducing classroom sizes and increasing pay for teachers in successful high-poverty schools. He would also give extra support to teachers in the first years of their careers and step up efforts to recruit and train new teachers. Finally, Edwards proposed a complete overhaul of No Child Left Behind, the creation of a School Success Fund to allow teams of experienced educators to spend a year at struggling schools, and launching a "Great Schools" initiative to build or expand 1,000 successful schools.

With the endorsement of the NCAE, Edwards has passed the 3.1 million members mark in union support. Last week Edwards won the endorsement of 11 SEIU state councils, representing over 1 million workers in Iowa, California, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, West Virginia, Ohio and Oregon. The endorsements will allow these 11 SEIU state councils to organize efforts to turn out caucus goers on Edwards’ behalf within Iowa, and in any other state where the SEIU state councils have also endorsed Edwards. The Iowa Postal Workers Union, representing 3,000 members, also endorsed Edwards last week. In September, Edwards earned the endorsement of the Transport Workers Union of America (200,000 active and retired members), the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (520,000 active members), the United Steelworkers (1.2 million active members and retirees), and the United Mine Workers of America (105,000 active members and retirees).


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Edwards wins endorsement of Iowa, California and eight other major state SEIU councils

Close to one million SEIU members choose Edwards because he has the strength and vision to win both the primary and the general election.

Des Moines, Iowa – Today, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) state councils from Iowa, California, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Minnesota, Michigan, West Virginia, Ohio and Oregon announced they have endorsed Senator John Edwards for president, totaling close to one million SEIU members.

Representatives from several of the ten state councils joined Edwards for a press conference at the Eckstein Medical Research Building in Iowa City. The endorsements will allow these SEIU state councils, which collectively represent over 930,000 members, to organize efforts to turn out caucus goers on Edwards’ behalf within Iowa, and in any other state where the SEIU state councils have also endorsed Edwards. SEIU state councils across the country will be determining their endorsement decisions in the coming weeks.

“John Edwards is the only Democratic candidate with the vision, leadership and strength needed to win, not just the primary but also the general election,” said Dave Regan, representing the state councils of Ohio and West Virginia. “In the battleground states that I represent, Edwards’ broad appeal and strength at the top of the ticket will help Democrats in races at every level. He will help us build a true mandate that will bring real change to Washington, end the war in Iraq, bring truly universal health care, labor law and immigration reform – and these are the things that will improve the lives of working families across America.”

“As a Registered Nurse who knows first hand the need for health care reform, it's a great honor to announce that the members of SEIU Iowa have chosen to endorse John Edwards for president of the United States,” said Iowa SEIU Local 199 president Cathy Glasson. “In Iowa, we are uniquely positioned to see and hear the candidates, and members are well informed on the issues important to working families. John Edwards earned our support by taking a strong stand on health care and because he offers our members the greatest hope for restoring the American Dream.”

“California SEIU members know that John Edwards will be the best labor president in the history of the United States,” said Sal Rosselli, president of SEIU United Healthcare Workers West. “His proposals are far and away the best among the candidates on the issues that matter most to working Americans. Edwards has taken principled stands on workers’ behalf, when others took more cautious positions on issues that demand bold action.”

Added Tyrone Freeman, president of United Long Term Care Workers West, “We embrace his vision for opportunity for working people, and are proud to join his campaign of optimism, conviction and action that will bridge the divide between the two Americas. We will do everything in our power, in Iowa, California and across America to ensure that he ends up in the White House.”

“John Edwards understands the everyday struggles faced by working families across the country,” said TJ Janssen, a homecare worker from Wenatchee, Washington. “His commitment to ensuring quality affordable health care for every American is why I’m so excited to be supporting his campaign.”

The 2,000 members of the Iowa SEIU voted to endorse Edwards for the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday evening. On Friday, the membership of the California state council of the SEIU, which represents more than 656,000 working families, also voted to endorse Edwards. SEIU state councils from Washington (103,000 members), Michigan (70,000 members), Idaho (450 members), Montana (500 members), Minnesota (28,000 members), Ohio (22,000 members),West Virginia (4,000 members), and Oregon (46,000 members), also announced their endorsements on Monday.

“SEIU is at the forefront of the fight to make work pay and provide economic security to hardworking families. I have proudly stood with them on the frontlines of the fight for working Americans for years, and I am honored to earn their members’ support in each of these states today,” said Edwards. “Together, I believe we can fix the broken system in Washington that has been rigged by corporate interests, and we can make this country work for regular Americans again.”

The state SEIU endorsements bring Edwards close to the three million mark in union support. In September, Edwards earned the endorsement of the Transport Workers Union of America (200,000 active and retired members), the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (520,000 active members), the United Steelworkers (1.2 million active members and retirees), and the United Mine Workers of America (105,000 active members and retirees).


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Two more unions endorse Edwards

Official endorsement at Pittsburgh Labor Day rally gives Edwards largest bloc of union support among presidential candidates so far

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – The United Steelworkers (USW) and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) today endorsed Senator John Edwards for president. Following the Thursday endorsement of Edwards by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners in America, the two endorsements announced today at a Labor Day rally in Pittsburgh with union members and their families give Edwards the largest bloc of union support so far—combined, more than 1.8 million members and retirees—among any of the presidential candidates.

"I am especially honored to receive the support of the Steelworkers and Mine Workers unions," said Edwards, "These are the workers who built the middle class in America, and they are the backbone of the American labor movement. They understand how important it is to fight back when jobs, safety, standards and our values are at risk—and they know what's at stake in this election."

"These workers have felt the negative impact of a broken system in Washington that is rigged against America's working families for far too long—whether it's the tragic lack of oversight in mine safety, trade agreements written to benefit multinational corporations while they ship American jobs overseas, or the millions of working Americans who still can't afford health insurance," added Edwards. "As president, I will proudly lead the fight on behalf of working families with their support—and together we will win."

Representing 1.2 million workers and retirees, the USW is the nation's largest private sector industrial union. Following extensive outreach to USW members that included a poll of the union's 15,000 activists, as well as a nationwide survey of the union's membership, the USW International Executive Board voted unanimously on Sunday, September 2nd to endorse Edwards.

The UMWA represents 105,000 active and retired coal miners, municipal employees, health care workers and manufacturing workers in North America. Their membership includes more coal miners than any union in the world.

Both Steelworkers President Leo W. Gerard and UMWA President Cecil E. Roberts announced their endorsement by making clear the stakes hard-working families face and laying out why Sen. Edwards is the best candidate to lead the fight for change in America.

"Senator John Edwards is committed, as he has been throughout his life, to going to bat for everyday Americans and to changing a broken political system that leaves millions of Americans without a voice in their government," said Steelworkers President Leo W. Gerard. "Edwards is right on the issues that matter to us, and he's the candidate with the best chance of winning in the general election. The big corporations don't need another president who does their bidding. It's time we had a president who will fight for working people—and that's what John Edwards will do."

"Senator Edwards' positions on the issues of importance to UMWA members make him the best fit of all the candidates for president," UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said. "We need a president who cares about ordinary working people instead of the richest Americans and the big multinational corporations. We believe John Edwards is that person, and we will work as hard as we know how on his behalf anywhere and everywhere we can."

Close to 1,000 people were expected at the Pittsburgh Labor Day rally where the unions' official endorsements were announced. Sen. Edwards was joined on stage by USW President Leo Gerard, UMWA International President Cecil Roberts and local union members. Elizabeth Edwards and Edwards Campaign Manager David Bonior also attended the event.

On Thursday, August 30th, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, representing more than 520,000 members from all political affiliations, also announced that they would endorse John Edwards for president. Their formal endorsement will take place at a rally of union members on September 8th in New Hampshire.


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Carpenter's Union endorses Edwards

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters, a union that has not endorsed a candidate in the primaries in several election cycles, will formally announce their endorsement of John Edwards for President at a rally of union members on September 8th in New Hampshire.

After carefully considering all the candidates from both parties, the Carpenters Union chose Edwards as the candidate with the best chance of winning the White House and the person who will best represent hard-working families.

"Our endorsement is based on the Senator's outspoken support for all of organized labor and his focus on America's working families," said Carpenters President Douglas J. McCarron. "In addition to his support for labor, our leadership was particularly impressed with the Senator's strong stand on trade."

"We also believe that Senator Edwards will have a great appeal in a general election," McCarron continued. "He has the ability to reach out to moderate voters, including the members of our union, and to address their very real concerns about jobs, health care and the economy."

Senator Edwards believes that in order to strengthen the middle class and build One America, we need to strengthen the union movement in our country. He has traveled across the country to walk picket lines and has helped organize thousands of workers into unions. Edwards is a strong supporter of workers' rights and has laid out a comprehensive agenda to help working families, which includes raising the minimum wage, guaranteeing universal health care, enacting smart and safe trade policies and protecting a worker's right to organize.

"More than ever, America needs a president who will stand up for working families and the middle class," Edwards said. "I have walked picket lines and helped organize thousands of workers, and I've seen firsthand what unions go through every single day trying to protect the right to organize, trying to bargain collectively, and trying to get a decent wage and health care. If we're going to grow the middle class and ensure fairness, we need to strengthen workers' rights. I have always stood on the side of working Americans and I always will."

The full press release is available here.


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