• United States President - Senator Barack Obama  (won)
• United States Senate - State Representative Jeff Merkley  (won)
• Oregon Attorney General - John Kroger  (won)
• Secretary of State - State Senator Vicki Walker
• Oregon State Treasurer - State Senator Ben Westlund  (won)

ILWU President Robert McEllrath and Democratic Presidential Candidate U.S. Senator Barack Obama at the San Francisco Labor Council in Summer 2007 (D-Ill.). Photo by John Showalter

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President today, concluding he is “the best candidate for working families.”
International Executive Board members made the decision after meeting with different campaigns and examining their positions on key issues that will impact working families in the coming years, including:

• Bringing our troops home safely from Iraq.
• Re-thinking “free trade” agreements that have destroyed jobs.
• Making quality, affordable health care available to all Americans.
• Allowing workers to choose unions without employer intimidation.

“America’s working families are ready for a candidate with a fresh approach who will put people first and hold corporations more accountable,” said ILWU International President Bob McEllrath.  “Obama met with us, listened to our concerns, and we think he’ll do the best job on the issues that matter most to working families.

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ILWU Endorses Jeff Merkley for US Senate

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union threw its support today behind Oregon Democratic House Speaker Jeff Merkley’s bid to unseat Gordon Smith. The ILWU is the first AFL-CIO union to endorse Jeff for U.S. Senate.

“The ILWU is committed to advancing the political and economic interests of workers in the United States and throughout the world,” ILWU Secretary-Treasurer William Adams said in a letter to Jeff. “We look forward to working with you to achieve our mutual goals.”

The ILWU represents 60,000 workers on the West Coast of the United States and Hawaii. These men and women are employed in longshore, warehousing, agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing industries. The marine division of the ILWU, the Inland Boatmen’s Union, represents ferry, tug, and barge workers.

The Longshoremen joined the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, which was the first union to endorse Jeff. They comprise a growing group of unions committed to electing a US Senator who will represent Oregon’s workers and their families.

Posted Jeff Merkley website

October 9, 2007

http://www.jeffmerkley.com/