Edwards makes the rounds for local nurses’ backing

Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007 | 7:18 a.m.

Courting a crucial endorsement, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards spent time with members of the nurses union Thursday, taking a hospital tour with one, meeting behind closed doors with several others and doing a meet and greet with onlookers and journalists.

Shauna Hamel, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union Local 1107 - which represents 17,500 nurses and hospital technicians - guided Edwards on a tour through St. Rose Dominican Hospitals' Siena Campus in Henderson. Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, and Hamel, an intensive-care nurse at the hospital, talked about issues as he greeted people and posed for photos.

Given what the union members could mean to his campaign, it was no surprise that Edwards was spending a good chunk of his time in a hospital.

Edwards is chasing New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner for the presidential nomination, and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who is second in national polls. So an endorsement by the Nevada service workers union could bolster his chances in the Nevada caucus in January, one of four early contests. The endorsement would allow SEIU members from chapters in others states that endorse Edwards - most notably California - to send an army of volunteers to campaign in Nevada.

"Organized groups like the 1107 will make a huge difference on caucus night," said Chris Chafe, senior adviser to Edwards.

Edwards has been endorsed by the SEIU in Iowa and New Hampshire, two other states where voters will caucus or vote in January, so the Nevada endorsement would make him 3-for-3, Chafe said. The Nevada SEIU endorsement is important because the early states could create momentum for Edwards. Locking them down would also boost his chances of winning battleground states if he becomes the Democratic presidential candidate, Chafe said.

But the Nevada service employees union has more than one suitor. Obama met with about two dozen SEIU members for about 30 minutes after Thursday's debate and Clinton has met with SEIU members on previous visits.

All three are vying for an endorsement when the chapter is in disarray. Nevada union members were caught by surprise in October when, for the first time, the SEIU national declined to endorse a candidate. That left the decision to state chapters, and the Nevada organization had no process in place to make an endorsement. In addition, some union officials have questioned the leadership ability of Executive Director Jane McAlevey. Last week, a group of 200 nurses, many of them SEIU members, came out in support of Clinton.

Hamel said the Nevada union's executive board, which has about 50 members and will decide on an endorsement, is determining the opinions of members with phone surveys, mailings and straw polls. And a decision about whom to endorse - if the union endorses anyone - could come in the first week of December.

"I'm a blank slate," Hamel said, when asked whether she had a favorite candidate. "I'm waiting to see. I'm just excited to see what the members said."

If the Nevada SEIU does not make an endorsement, officials say, they will focus on educating and registering voters.

In the news conference that followed the tour and a 30-minute closed-door meeting with the SEIU, Edwards, who has been a leader in calling for universal health care coverage, touted key points of the SEIU agenda. He called for the expansion of nursing schools and financial aid to alleviate the nursing shortage, ergonomic standards for nurses and mandated nurse-to-patient staffing ratios.

"It is critical that we grow and strengthen the union movement in this country," he said, " ... if we want to grow and strengthen the middle class."

Edwards said supporting unions is personal to him because his parents and brother have health insurance through unions.

"I intend to be the president of the United States who strengthens and grows the union movement in this country."