(The IAFF did not invite Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), deeming him not to be a serious candidate. After considerable internal debate, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) was invited, but he did not appear, nor did several other Republican hopefuls).
"Today isn't the day that we're making a decision; today is the day that we're beginning this very serious process," Schaitberger said. He outlined three possibilities:
We ultimately can stand on the sidelines and watch the game be played, and that's not who we are. Or we can wait and follow somebody else. We can listen to a loud minority; we're a big union with people who have varied opinions, and I'm sure I don't have to tell you that fire fighters have strong opinions and they're not shy about expressing them. But then ultimately we're going to have to make a choice and we're going to have to lead, and lead means being bold, maybe taking a risk, but doing it in a thoughtful and deliberate way. So today is the beginning of that process.The IAFF, an AFL-CIO affiliate, represents about 280,000 professional fire fighters and emergency medical personnel in over 3,000 locals in the United States and Canada. According to information provided by the IAFF, in the 2006 mid-term election, 65 percent of the candidates it endorsed were Democrats and 35 percent were Republicans and 92 percent of the IAFF endorsed candidates won. The IAFF endorsement is much coveted; IAFF members in distinctive yellow and black tee-shirts have been a fixture on the campaign trail in recent election cycles. On Sept. 24, 2003 the IAFF became the first international union to endorse Sen. John Kerry for president (>).
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