AFL-CIO Postpones Endorsement In Democrat Primary
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CHICAGO — The AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest federation of labor unions, has postponed making a unanimous endorsement in the Democratic presidential primary, freeing its 55 unions to choose for themselves from the eight contenders.
“There is not a consensus candidate,” Karen Ackerman, political director of the AFL-CIO, said yesterday, one day after the candidates tried to impress union leaders at a presidential forum.
The Democratic hopefuls now will increase their lobbying efforts on the AFL-CIO’s unions — representing some 10 million workers — in hopes of picking up key endorsements. Several unions already have made plans to endorse one of the eight after Labor Day. “It is clear that a number of the Democratic candidates have the experience and the credentials to lead our nation,” a statement from the federation’s executive council said.
