2007 Iowa Brown & Black Presidential Forum: on Jobs

John Edwards: We need a president who’s willing to say the word “union”

A: Well, first, we need a president of the United States who’s actually willing to walk on the White House lawn and say the word “union.” Second, we need a president of the United States who will explain to the American people that the union movement helped build the great middle class in the United States of America and they will be crucial to building the middle class and strengthening the middle class in the future. We have well over 50 million people in this country who would like to join a union. If we really want to strengthen and grow economic security, we must strengthen and grow the organized labor movement. In order to do that, we need to change the law. If you can join the Republican Party by signing your name to a card, every worker in America should be able to join a union by signing their name to a card.