Hoping to snag a critical endorsement from the AFL-CIO, nine Democratic presidential candidates appeared before the labor federation at a meeting in Chicago last month to pitch their positions on a variety of issues vital to working people.

When they had finished, the members of the AFL-CIO executive council, including Local 237 President Carl Haynes, voted to give President John Sweeney authority to call an endorsement meeting in October to pick the candidate who had the best chance of defeating President Bush in the 2004 elections.

At the 90-minute forum sponsored by the AFL-CIO, the candidates, including Representative Dick Gephardt of Missouri; Senator Bob Graham of Florida; Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont; Senator John Edwards of North Carolina; Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut; Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts; Carol Moseley Braun, former senator of Illinois; the Rev. Al Sharpton; and Representative Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio, debated each other on such issues as health care reform, international trade, and they all denounced the Bush administration’s policies. The candidates will also appear in two televised debates before Labor makes a final decision.

Last month, the Teamsters union endorsed Congressman Dick Gephardt as its candidate of choice. Sixteen other unions have also endorsed Gephardt, who is a longtime friend of labor.

To win the AFL-CIO’s endorsement a candidate must win the support of at least two-thirds of the federation’s 13.2 million members.

Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa said he had no doubt Gephardt would secure Labor’s endorsement in October. “Dick Gephardt has proven by word and deed that he is by far the best candidate to represent the interests of America’s working families,” Hoffa said.

“In his 27 years in Congress he has always led the fight on our behalf. We are proud to join him in this fight. We have an opportunity to elect a true friend of working families. By staying united with Dick Gephardt we will win. I urge our brothers and sisters in the labor movement to join our cause.”