Union leaders tackle racism on the campaign trail

Union leaders tackle racism on the campaign trail

Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau

BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- Racism among workers is a hurdle Democrats must overcome, a top labor leader told Michigan's Democratic delegates this morning in a remarkably blunt assessment of the role of race in the campaign.

"A lot of white workers ... and quite frankly a lot of union members believe he's the wrong race," said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, continuing a campaign he has waged in recent days against the potential for racism to affect Sen. Barack Obama's chances.

Trumka told Michigan's delegation of an old friend he met during the Pennsylvania primary campaign this spring, a woman who said she planned to vote for Hillary Clinton. After a few minutes of conversation, Trumka said, the woman told him she didn't trust Obama "because he's black.

"I said to her, 'Look around you. This town we live in is a dying town, there are no jobs here, our kids have to move away because there's no future here, and here's a man who has spent a lifetime fighting for folks just like us ... and you're telling me you won't vote for him because of the color of his skin.' "

"I said, 'Good God lady, its 2008. Are you out of your mind?' "

Trumka acknowledged that some union workers may vote for John McCain because of race. But organized labor's job, he said, is to convince those workers that McCain's agenda is hostile to working families.

"If John McCain were any closer to big business he'd be listed on the New York Stock Exchange," Trumka said. "A worker who votes for John McCain is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders."

The AFL-CIO has sent a series of targeted direct-mail advertisements in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania in recent weeks, hitting McCain on his Social Security and economic proposals.