Dem. ’08ers ‘Building’ Support

ABC News’ Tahman Bradley and Matthew Zavala Report: Seven Democratic presidential hopefuls made pitches to the Building and Construction Trades Union Wednesday in Washington, D.C., and each candidate brought his or her bread and butter speech. 

For former Sen. John Edwards, D-NC., it was the usual talk about two Americas and the plight of the nation’s poor. "I want to tell you I’m going to stand up for them. Every ounce of my strength and my energy, twenty-four hours a day. There cause is my cause," Edwards said. 

The former senator, who was the forum’s first speaker, said he’s fully behind the Employee Free Choice Act. "Any worker ought to be able to join a union," he said.  His 2008 rivals were in lockstep. 

Senator Hillary Clinton D-N.Y., called the Employee Free Choice ACT "as American as apple pie," as she tried to one-up her rivals by showing off her understanding of the issues most important to organized labor.  Clinton touted her push for legislation requiring "meaningful access" to contractor payroll records and said work must be done to end the practice of employers misclassifying workers as independent contractors to avoid meeting wage requirements. 

Always a crowd-pleaser, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio., went to the left of all of his opponents calling for NAFTA and WTO to be "cancelled."  "The only way to fix NAFTA is to tear up the agreements," Kucinich said.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson declared that when he is president he will appoint a Secretary of Labor who is a union member, while Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd proclaimed, "I’m a union guy, I’m a union senator and I’m proud to stand with union workers."

Sen. Joe Biden D-Del., drew huge applause when he accused the Bush administration of having a war on torts and organized workers.  "The future of this country’s economic stability rests upon the growth, not the diminishment of unions."

The event’s last speaker, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said he hoped that his all of the 2008 presidential campaigns become vehicles of the organized labors hopes and dreams. 

Republican senator of Nebraska Chuck Hagel was originally scheduled to address the union but cancelled his appearance early this week.