Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

UNITE HERE in the Midwest embraces Edwards, but HQ and Culinary are still chewing on it

Some news this morning on the all-important Culinary Union front.

UNITE HERE and its 60,000-member Las Vegas affiliate seem to have agreed that they'll share in a single endorsement of a Democratic presidential candidate — and it may not come until after the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus to improve their odds in betting on a winner.

But the delayed decision hasn't gotten in the way of UNITE HERE affiliates in the Midwest, who won approval from headquarters to throw their support behind former Sen. John Edwards, who's in a three-way horserace in Iowa.

Because a UNITE HERE endorsement after Jan. 3 obviously wouldn't help a preferred candidate in Iowa, headquarters authorized its Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board to support Edwards' efforts there. The international stresses that, for its part, it still hasn't made its endorsement, nor has the Culinary here.

That "universal endorsement" is expected in early January, the union said. (More on that below.)

For now, the union's Midwest affiliate will commit staff, volunteers and financial resources to Edwards' campaign in Iowa immediately, the union said. It joins members of Service Employees International Union, the Carpenters Union and the Steelworkers Union, among others, in the run-up to the state's Jan. 3 caucus.

The endorsement is a big boost for Edwards, who, while leading Iowa polls for most of the year, is now in a tough fight with Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the state. According to its Web site, the affiliate comprises more than 50,000 UNITE HERE members in 11 states.

The announcement from the international that it won't endorse until early January is not surprising. As I wrote last month, the Culinary sees the endorsement process as a distraction from its contract negotiations, and D. Taylor, the union's

secretary-treasurer and lead negotiator, seemed in no particular hurry to play political kingmaker.

Meanwhile, the endorsement date predicted by the Washington Post (Dec. 2) has come and gone.

More interesting is the language used by the union in its announcement: "The union, including Culinary Local 226 in Nevada, plans to announce an endorsement in early January 2008."

Until now, there has been much speculation about the endorsement process.

Bruce Raynor, co-president of UNITE HERE, told The Wall Street Journal in September that Edwards is his favorite candidate and that the union would be endorsing someone soon. But, when I asked him about his comments at a Culinary event in Las Vegas the following week, he said, "We're still working on our process," before turning and walking away.

Pilar Weiss, the Culinary's political director, has noted a UNITE HERE endorsement wouldn't bind the local to the same candidate. All of this led many to believe we'd see two separate endorsements. Not so, says UNITE HERE spokeswoman Amanda Cooper. "There was never any plan or concern that Culinary would do its own endorsement," Cooper said.

The combined statements seem to suggest that the Culinary has won the day, causing the international to make a late pick. Of course, there are obvious advantages: If the union were to endorse after the Iowa caucuses, its chances of backing a winner would be greatly enhanced. And the Culinary has a lot riding on its endorsement. After countless local and national media

outlets have deemed it the most important "get" in Nevada, it must deliver on caucus day.

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