Edwards To Protect Unions; Dem Candidates Pick Up Union Endorsments

  In a Labor Day speech in Pittsburgh, Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards promised to make joining a union easier (by requiring only a signature on a membership card) and protect workers' right to strike (by outlawing the use of replacement workers during strikes). 

Edwards' efforts to attract labor support have paid off. Prior to his speech on Monday, the United Steelworkers and United Mine Workers of America endorsed him.  (The United Steelworkers has 850,000 members and, according to the Edwards campaign, is the largest private industrial union in the United States.)  The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners has also endorsed Edwards.

Other Democratic candidates have also scored with unions. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the United Transportation Union have endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton. The International Association of Fire Fighters has endorsed Sen. Chris Dodd.

For more, see USA Today and Edwards' campaign blog.  You can also watch part of Edwards' Labor Day rally here.