Biden Shows He Will Be Labor’s Advocate in Obama Administration

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a5Tw77jVWTpU&refer=home

By Heidi Przybyla

Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden was selected as Barack Obama’s running mate in part to fill out the Democratic ticket’s foreign-policy credentials. The vice president-elect’s actual portfolio may be much closer to home as he takes on the role of labor’s advocate within the administration.

Biden has a record of supporting labor during his 36-year career in the Senate. He made the decision to be a voice for workers as vice president after union officials called him to complain that their interests aren’t represented by President- elect Obama’s economic advisers, according to two members of the transition team.

Some Democrats and labor officials are concerned about Obama’s selection of New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary and former Treasury chief Lawrence Summers to be White House economic director. Both are linked to Robert Rubin, who as former President Bill Clinton’s top economic adviser pushed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which labor opposed.

The unions “feel they haven’t had a leading role,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a Washington organization. They were “hugely important” for Obama’s election “so it’s not unreasonable for them to think they’ll have a lot of input into his economic appointees.”

Foreign Policy

Biden’s focus on labor may help define his agenda. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he had a pivotal role in shaping U.S. foreign policy. In the Obama administration, he will have to cede some of that ground to Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state nominee.

Unions spent more than $80 million supporting Democrats during the election and were crucial in helping Obama woo older, white working-class voters.

FULL story at link.