Breaking: UAW Endorses Paul Hackett

[ohio_liberal]

:woohoo: Oh hell yeah!


Posted on the dKos:

UAW Endorses Hackett in Senate Race

Columbus, OH - Paul Hackett, Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate, today received the endorsement of the United Auto Workers. The UAW is Ohio's largest union with more than 175,000 members throughout each of the state's 88 counties.

"I'm honored to have the UAW in my corner. Their fight is my fight. As Ohio's next U.S. Senator I'll stand up to the special interests and career politicians in Washington that have allowed thousands of good paying jobs to be shipped overseas," said Hackett.

Hackett continued, "I look forward to working with the UAW and the working families they represent during my campaign to bring real change and leadership to Washington. The people of Ohio deserve a leader, not a rubber stamp for the failed policies of the Bush administration."

A formal endorsement event will be held Tuesday. Details TBA.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/12/16/17119/581

[Oceansaway]

1. Touche !!

[Pithy Cherub]

2. That ia huge Hackett WOW! Especially so early!

The UAW will bring additional resources to this. That is really interesting in Ohio! You can bet Hackett is pumped! :woohoo:

[ohio_liberal]

3. I know!

In the primary even. This is great news. :bounce:

[VolcanoJen]

4. Oh, hell yizzle!!!!!

Woot!!!!!!

[ohio_liberal]

5. AP article

Surprise endorsement for political newcomer signals union split
Associated Press

(snip...)

The United Auto Workers told The Associated Press that its 17 area councils and 10 at-large representatives had voted 26-1 for Hackett, two days after the Cleveland AFL-CIO voted to continue its long-standing practice of backing Brown.

"This is shocking news," said William Binning, political science professor at Youngstown State University. "There's a split in the labor ranks in Ohio, and that's not good news for Democrats."

(snip...)

Rather, he says his union, which is affiliated with AFL-CIO nationally but not on the state level, simply felt Hackett had a better chance of gaining Republican and independent support to win against DeWine.

He said Hackett, an Iraq war veteran, showed he had the charisma and crossover appeal when he got 48 percent of the vote in a special congressional election this summer, in one of the most conservative districts in the country.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/13425312.htm

[blue neen]

11. I also liked this quote from the same article:

"But UAW Ohio President Lloyd Mahaffey isn't worried that unions backing different candidates will keep them from coming together against two-term GOP Sen. Mike DeWine in November's general election."

It sounds like they will all unite to defeat DeWine next November.

Go Hackett!

[Cha]

6. That's Big! I saw that

ad that Hackett did with his wife Suzi and their kids and it was First Class all the way! And it made me cry..glad to see he's on board for bringing home ze troops!

[MercutioATC]

7. Woooohoooo! BIG endorsement...

...early, too. With Sherrod's temper, I'm surprised they'd commit so early.

[Pacifist Patriot]

8. Go Hackett!

[blue neen]

9. That's great news!

Paul Hackett is a leader. :)

[FrenchieCat]

10. Well, I think that's a smart move....

Because, as they say, Hackett has the better chance during the GE....and that is what counts in the end after all. Sorry Mr. Brown, it's the truth!

[Jade Fox]

12. Yahoo! That's good news.

[izzybeans]

13. Good for them both. I hope he comes through this time.

[Algorem]

14. You have to admit,the UAW's been doing a heckuva job.

http://democracyguy.typepad.com/democracy_guy_grassroots_/2005/10/ohio_uaw_about_.html

Ohio UAW About To Endorse Hackett
Rumor has it that the Ohio UAW is about to endorse Paul Hackett for US Senate. You could look at this one of two ways. Either this starts Paul Hackett cooking with gas, or it's a kiss of death. I'm goin' with kiss of death.

The kiss of death argument rests mainly on the track record of organized labor in statewide Democratic primary races. The most notorious disaster was in 1994, when practically the entire labor movement got behind Joel Hyatt for US Senate, and Rob Burch for Governor, a major factor which yielded the most humiliating collapse in Ohio Democratic Party history that fall.

How would a UAW endorsment play for Hackett? The Ohio UAW has been pretty dysfunctional lately. It's former Cleveland area director, Warren Davis, pulled one of the most ridiculous, bizarre stunts of all time when he said he would retire, changed his mind, and ran briefly for Congress in 2002. The current Ohio UAW region director, Llyod Mahaffee, hasn't been a real big fan of Sherrod Brown. Who knows where this leads. One thing is for sure...Hackett will make a big stink about it.


http://www.laboreducator.org/darkpast.htm

" "It's generally understood that there's been some ill will between Brown and Mahaffey and everyone's uncertain the exact reason why," he said."(?)

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/13426116.htm