Primaries Offer a Ray of Hope by William Burrus, American Postal Workers President
The results of the 2008 Iowa caucuses have been finalized, and Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee have been declared the winners. The results are surprising, and they offer a ray of hope about the democratic process.
It is far too early to draw conclusions about who the eventual Democratic and Republican presidential candidates will be, but the number of voters and the infusion of new participants in the process are cause for optimism.
Perhaps Americans have begun to turn away from the divisiveness of the past seven years. Perhaps hope has begun to replace fear, and the voters in November will cast their ballots for a new direction. Although APWU as an institution has not expressed preferences in the primary process, the Iowa results offer hope for the future.
We congratulate the Iowa caucus winners and the APWU members who participated in the process. As the remaining 49 states go to the polls in the coming months, we encourage APWU members to participate in the process by voting and supporting the candidate of their choice.
Sen. Clinton on Track, Needs Your Help in New Hampshire by William Young, National Association of Letter Carriers President
The results of the Iowa caucuses are in, and contrary to what you might be hearing from the media spin machines, NALC’s endorsed candidate is on track for the Democratic nomination. Sure, I was a little disappointed that Sen. Hillary Clinton was not named the “winner” in Iowa, but she had a very strong showing and is well positioned to win in New Hampshire. I hope I can count on you to help turn out letter carriers in support of NALC’s choice for president next Tuesday.
Leaving aside the reported percentages, here are the actual results from Iowa: Sen. Obama won 16 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Clinton won 15 delegates and former Sen. Edwards won 14 delegates. It will take 2,026 delegates to win the nomination, so this race is far from over. On January 8th our members in New Hampshire have a chance to stand up for all letter carriers in America by taking the time to vote for Senator Clinton.
She is committed to a strong Postal Service, opposes contracting out, and considers the labor movement the backbone of the middle class, not just another “special interest” group. Like us, she is committed to changing the direction of this country. Unlike others, she has the skills and experience to actually make it happen.
Thank you all for being activists for letter carriers nationwide. Have a happy new year and don’t forget to vote on Tuesday.