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Men tell union hall crowd why they think Clinton best choice for president
By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Mar 01, 2008
They may be young, but Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters at the United Steelworkers Local No. 2 union hall in East Akron on Friday said they are worried about their futures.
They are concerned about getting good jobs and want secure retirement plans and Social Security benefits before they've even earned them.
''I have a child. I want to protect the future for her and for myself,'' said Deatrice Wiler, 18, an Ellet High senior who said she
will enter Kent State University this fall.
Torin Daley, 18, a Green High graduate, said he supports Clinton because he liked the job her husband did in office.
''He got us out of a recession and gave us a balanced budget,'' Daley said. He believes the former first lady can do the same.
Retired U.S. Congressman and House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland crisscrossed the state Friday stumping for Clinton. They spoke to the crowd of about 50 people at the hall, mostly union members and organizers. As expected, the issue they wanted to hear about was jobs.
But it was Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic who brought up the North American Free Trade Agreement, a sore subject with local union members since it passed in 1993.
''I heard her say it,'' he said of Clinton. ''Maybe NAFTA was a mistake. She's not afraid to admit she may have made a mistake. The guy in there now never made a mistake,'' Plusquellic said to enthusiastic applause.
Gephardt said while he was House majority leader, Bill Clinton asked him to broker a fair trade deal with Mexico. He said he was unsuccessful.
''That's why everyone wants to leave Mexico and come to the states,'' he said. ''They don't have unions there.''
Gephardt said he told President Clinton at the time he would lead the fight in the House against the agreement.
''We lost by three votes,'' Gephardt said. ''If we want to fix NAFTA we need Hillary to get the job done.''
Gephardt said he approached Hillary Clinton 18 months ago and asked her to consider running for the presidency because he believes she can do the job.
''I know this is the toughest job in the world and after the last eight years, it's 20 times tougher,'' he said.
''I think Barack Obama is fabulous . . . motivational, and I think he's special,'' Gephardt said. But he said he doesn't believe Obama is the right person for the job today.
''I am here for a single reason, I think this country is in the biggest mess in my lifetime,'' he said. ''You've got to look at who is the best available talent at this time,'' and that's Clinton, he said.
Jack Hefner, vice president of Local 2, said the steelworkers union had not endorsed a candidate since John Edwards dropped out of the race, but will decide soon — and their choice will definitely be a Democrat.
''We want the Republicans out of every office they hold,'' Hefner said.
David Prentice, political coordinator of USWA Local 2L said the membership would make a decision within the next two weeks, then work to support the candidate.
''We put out 65,000 (fliers) for (U.S. Representative) Tim Ryan. We'll put out double that amount for our candidate,'' he said.
All eyes will be on Ohio on Tuesday, Strickland said.
''I want to send a message across the country. It's not over until Ohio has its say,'' he told the crowd.
Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.
They may be young, but Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters at the United Steelworkers Local No. 2 union hall in East Akron on Friday said they are worried about their futures.
Get the full article here.
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