CNN: Organized labor divided on Clinton, Obama

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/01/dems.unions/

(CNN) -- Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have aggressively courted organized labor, but unions are divided between the Democratic candidates.

Clinton and Obama frequently address issues that hit home for unions -- wages, protection of the right to form unions, health insurance, cutting taxes for the middle class and reworking trade agreements that some union members blame for job loss.

A union's endorsement can give a candidate's campaign a significant boost because union members often act as ground troops to canvass neighborhoods and work the phones.

Speaking in Portage, Indiana, Clinton on Wednesday told workers "the American labor movement built the middle class."

"I will fight with you and for you. And no state needs a president more who understands the importance of manufacturing and the significance of the labor union movement than Indiana," she said in her speech at Duneland Falls Steel Workers Local Union Hall.

Obama last month told union members in Pennsylvania he's "ready to play offense for organized labo

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