State's biggest labor union endorses Obama

OLYMPIA — Barack Obama got a boost Wednesday when the state's largest labor union — the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) — endorsed him for president over Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The endorsement could be a big factor heading into the Democratic Party's precinct caucuses on Saturday. SEIU has about 100,000 members statewide and over the past decade has become one of the state's most powerful political forces.

"Nobody makes a bigger difference in organizing campaigns in this state than SEIU," said Congressman Adam Smith, Obama's state chairman.

The endorsement might carry some extra weight here because some of the state's other major unions remain neutral or divided between Obama and Clinton.

SEIU had previously endorsed former Sen. John Edwards, but he dropped out of the race last week.

Leaders from the SEIU's locals in Washington met Tuesday night and reached a unanimous decision to throw their support to Obama.

"We believe and see that he has created a movement in this country," said Diane Sosne, president of SEIU Local 1199 NW, which represents nurses and other health-care workers.

Sosne said Obama is awakening the nation's "sleeping giant" electorate and offers the most hope for reforming the health-care system. Other union leaders added that Obama has the best chance of winning the general election in November.

Clinton has been getting a lot of support from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents about 25,000 workers in this state.

In fact, the Clinton campaign is using the union's offices in Seattle's South Park neighborhood as a makeshift campaign headquarters. And for the past week the union has been using its 22-line phone bank to round up Clinton supporters for the caucuses.

But, like most individuals and groups following the topsy-turvy Democratic race, many of Washington's unions are torn, said Rick Bender, president of the Washington State Labor Council.

"It's hard to read who the favorite is," Bender said recently. "I think there are a lot of people grappling with who they're going to support."

A good example of the union ambivalence is the position of the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE), which represents nearly 40,000 government employees.

The federation's parent union — the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) — endorsed Clinton last fall and has campaigned hard on her behalf in some states.

But the state federation's leaders spoke against the endorsement.

"We just believed it was way too early," said WFSE spokesman Tim Welch. "Our members were wondering ... why not let the race sort itself out?"

Last month, AFSCME officials from seven states — including WFSE President Greg Devereux — signed a letter chastising the union's international president for "costly and deceptive" attacks that the union had sponsored against Obama's health-care plans before the New Hampshire primary.

Welch said that when the state union polled its members last summer, Obama came out slightly ahead of Clinton and Edwards. And he said a large percentage of the union's members are Republicans.

AFSCME has sent in paid staff from other states to help campaign for Clinton, and they have set up shop at the state union's headquarters in Olympia.

But Welch said the state union is not picking sides and instead is merely trying to get out the word about the caucuses.

"We're not not supporting Sen. Clinton, we're supporting participation," Welch said.

SEIU's international organization has not endorsed a candidate. Several of the union's state chapters have endorsed Obama — including in California and Nevada, both states where he lost.

In 2004, SEIU backed Howard Dean. But by the time the race reached Washington's caucuses, Dean's national campaign had already faltered and he lost here to Sen. John Kerry.

David Rolf, president of SEIU Healthcare 775, figures there are tens of thousands of Obama supporters and undecided voters within SEIU's membership.

He said the union will work hard to find those people and make sure they understand that, in order to have a say in the Democratic race, they must attend Saturday's caucuses.

The party is choosing all of its delegates through the caucuses and is ignoring results of the state's Feb. 19 presidential primary.

"Between now and Saturday morning, we are all not going to rest," Rolf said. "We absolutely believe we can make a difference."

Ralph Thomas: 360-943-9882 or rthomas@seattletimes.com