Obama Says He Would Walk Picket Line

At the annual convention of Council 61 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents more than 20,000 Iowa state workers, Democrat Barack Obama told union activists last night that he would walk a picket line as president if organized labor helps elect him in 2008. AFSCME plays an important role in Iowa Democratic politics. Besides campaign money, an endorsement brings into play a legion of talented organizers throughout the state.

"I stood on the picket line and marched with workers at the Congress Hotel in Chicago last week," Obama said. "I had marched with them four years earlier and I told them when I left that if they were still fighting four years from now, I'd be back on that picket line as president of the United States and we'll get the Congress Hotel organized."

"I won't just vote the right way with you, I will stand with you," Obama said. "We are facing a Washington that has thrown open its doors to the most anti-union, anti-worker forces we've seen in generations. What we need to make real today is the idea that in this country we value the labor of every American."

Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Chris Dodd of Connecticut, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also addressed the convention.