WIN Week In Review December 28-30, 2007

By Doug Cunningham

With just days to before the Iowa caucuses unions are working hard for Democratic candidates in Iowa. SEIU Local 199 President Cathy Glasson says her union has people in the field doing voter outreach and will work right up to the caucuses to get people to come out for Senator John Edwards.

[Glasson]: "He actually walks the walk and has talked the talk for us. And he's actually been on our pickets lines, he's been in our organizing campaigns - not just now, but he was there several years ago. So he's been a friend of SEIU in Iowa for many, many years. So we believe that he stands on our issues and is the best candidate to actually serve us in the White House and actually make change that's important to working folks and union members in Iowa."

Glasson says Edwards may do better than his current polling numbers suggest.

[Glasson2]: "We feel we have a pretty good organizing campaign in our union and that's what this is all about. So i think that it's very possible that he may just surprise folks."

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AFSCME is backing Senator Hillary Clinton. AFSCME's Andrew Bouska says Clinton is the better candidate and here's why.

[Bouska]: "I think her strength, her leadership and her experience are unparalleled. She has the plans to move America forward. She has the experience to get that done. There won't be any quote, unquote on the job training with Senator Clinton. I think in terms of economic security, protecting America, providing health care for everyone, standing up for strong workers, ending privatization Hillary Clinton is the candidate to best do that."

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The UAW is not officially endorsing any primary candidate. But UAW Region 4 Director Dennis Williams is backing Senator Barack Obama. Williams has known Obama since 1995.

[Williams]: "I think Senator Barack Obama brings something new to the table. He's a good listener. When he believes in something or when he feels strongly about something, I consider him a warrior. And I believe he would do that for whatever he believes in - not just for labor but for everything."

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A resolution of support for five UAW 3520 Freightliner fired bargaining committee members has been sent to UAW locals around the country. The five were fired following a local strike not authorized by the UAW international. The resolution backs an effort to have the five reinstated and calls on the UAW international to support the workers.

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Nataline Sarkisyan, the California teen denied a liver transplant by Cigna, died just hours after Cigna relented and agreed to pay for the transplant. The California Nurses Association (CNA) protested Cigna’s initial refusal to pay for the transplant and organized a protest that forced Cigna to reverse its decision. But CNA says Cigna should have allowed the transplant a week earlier. The CNA says the giant insurance company should have just listened to medical professionals who said the transplant was medically necessary. CNA says this final outcome is a horrible tragedy that demonstrates what is so fundamentally wrong with the U.S. health care system. The system puts profits before health care, and the CNA says companies like Cigna deny care to maximize profits.