WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Dick Gephardt is picking up another union endorsement -- his seventh.þþThe International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Technicians, or IATSE, will officially announce its support of the Missouri congressman on Tuesday in New York. The union has more than 100,000 members in the United States and Canada.þþUnion President Thomas C. Short said Monday that Gephardt ``has demonstrated through words and most importantly his actions, that he supports working families. He has fought to protect the rights of unions to organize, bargain and represent their members.''þþThe AFL-CIO's executive council will meet next week in Chicago to gauge the political temperature of its 65 affiliate unions and whether a single labor endorsement is even possible. An endorsement likely won't happen unless a candidate can receive the backing of unions representing two-thirds of all rank-and-file members.þþShould the AFL-CIO choose to enter the primary fray, Gephardt, a longtime ally of organized labor, is considered the most likely candidate to get an endorsement. The federation has granted only two early endorsements: Walter Mondale in 1984 and Al Gore in 2000.þþGephardt has made clear that he wants to join that list and fills his schedule with visits to union halls and meetings with labor leaders and their members.þþSo far, his support has come from mostly smaller unions. The largest is from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, with 720,000 members.þþMost of the large unions that spend a lot of money on elections have not chosen among the nine Democratic hopefuls. Some are waiting for the AFL-CIO to decide if it will endorse before acting.þþConcern among labor leaders about whether Gephardt could beat President Bush next year and his disappointing showing in fund raising in the last quarter -- $1 million less than his campaign had predicted -- has emboldened some of his rivals to pursue union support.þþRival Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut senator, will speak to union leaders gathered in Florida on Tuesday for an organizing meeting.þþ^------þþWASHINGTON (AP) -- When Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean asked his supporters to match the fund-raising prowess of Vice President Dick Cheney, they stepped up to the plate, raising more than $450,000 over the Internet in a single weekend.þþThe effort began Friday, when the Vermont governor's campaign Web site challenged donors to match the $250,000 that Cheney was slated to raise at a single luncheon in South Carolina. Dean's campaign set a deadline of midnight Monday to reach the goal.þþMore than 8,700 donors helped Dean surpass his goal by Sunday, and contributions continued to come in throughout the day Monday.þþ``Let's show Dick Cheney that the grass roots have the power to take on the special interests that have bought the Bush administration,'' the campaign urged in an e-mail. ``Let's show George W. Bush and Dick Cheney that we will not let our government be sold to the highest bidder.''þþDean's Web site used a baseball bat icon to track the amount of money donated online, showing updated totals every half hour.þþIn the larger scheme, though, Dean's weekend challenge can hardly compare with the Bush juggernaut. Since Bush launched his bid for re-election on May 16, his campaign has raised at least $41.4 million, including $7 million on a recent two-day swing through Texas. That's more than $635,000 a day and counting since the effort started.þþ``We remain focused on building a strong grass-roots organization and raising resources to help get the President's message out,'' said Bush campaign spokesman Dan Ronayne.þþBy contrast, Dean's campaign has raised more than $7 million this year, $5 million coming through the Internet. The average online donation has been $73, according to the campaign.þþ
Source: NY Times
