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Contact: Jamie Horwitz

Union that represents public transportation, airline and railroad workers endorses John Edwards as the Democratic Nominee for President

NEW YORK -- The Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), “the union that moves America,” announced today that it is endorsing Sen. John Edwards for President of the United States and the union will now work to move its members in New York and across the nation to support the Edwards candidacy.

In making the announcement, TWU President James C. Little said, “Some candidates seem to be figuring out how to best triangulate on campaign issues. John Edwards takes on subjects such as job security, health care, retirement and the growing gap in wealth between the rich and the middle class in a straight forward way that the country and working families desperately need.”

In his remarks to TWU members from around the country and others gathered at the union’s national headquarters in New York, Little noted that numerous polls show Edwards to be the most electable Democrat in the general election. The TWU president also said, "The next election must provide America with a President who will reverse the failure of leadership of the past seven years. We feel that Sen. Edwards best amplifies the issues that most concern our members, including issues of security against terrorism on our nation's transportation systems, as well as safety for workers and passengers on our nation's highways, railroads, mass transportation networks and airlines."

The Edwards endorsement followed an extensive discussion among TWU activists and officers. One of the most politically active unions, TWU has in recent years placed more volunteers in the field on a per-capita basis than any other AFL-CIO union. The union’s membership is especially strong in the early primary and caucus states of Nevada, Oklahoma and Florida.

Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) represents 200,000 workers and retirees, primarily in commercial aviation, public transportation, passenger railroads, and public utilities. Among TWU’s members are employees of Amtrak, the MTA in New York City, SEPTA in Philadelphia, ground workers at American Airlines and ground workers and flight attendants at Southwest Airlines. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO. More information is available at www.twu.org.