(The International Brotherhood of Teamsters issued the following news release on June 28.)
LAS VEGAS — The labor movement is the best antipoverty program in the United States and the Teamsters are leading the way in the fight for workers in America, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards said today at the Teamsters 27th International Convention.
“It was the union that helped build the middle class of America,” Edwards told more than 7,000 Teamster delegates, retirees and guests from across North America attending this week’s convention in Las Vegas. “The greatest antipoverty program in the United States is the labor movement.”
Edwards, the 2004 Democratic nominee for vice president, said the Teamsters must hold politicians accountable, including Democrats, to help strengthen the labor movement.
“I believe in a Democratic Party of big ideas,” Edwards said. “I believe in a Democratic Party that actually has a backbone and courage and strength that will go out there and fight for the people we have always fought for. I believe in a Democratic Party that’s not afraid of saying the word ‘union’.”
Organizing is crucial to the future of the labor movement, and politicians need to support the cause, he said.
“We need leaders who actually believe in your cause. We need real labor law reform. We need to put labor law on the side of working people. If anybody in America can sign a card and join the Republican Party, anyone in America should be able to sign a card and join a union,” he said.
The Teamsters have a proud history of supporting elected officials who support working families, and plans are under way to mobilize millions of Teamsters for this fall’s mid-term elections.
“John Edwards has walked with union members on picket lines and he’s been with us during organizing drives,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President. “John Edwards is an important ally for the American labor movement and I am proud to call him a friend of the Teamsters.”