MANCHESTER, N.H.–Oprah Winfrey, Day 2. A crowd is filling the Verizon Wireless Arena. The program will start in about 30 minutes. Guesstimate now on attendance is 10,000, better figures to come later. Will Barack Obama, who is seeking the support of organized labor, an influential force in Democratic politics, mention how the stagehands union is trying to organize here? The Obama campaign got a waiver from the NH AFL-CIO to book the rally here without pickets.
For a summary of the labor dispute surrounding the Verizon arena, Boston Globe story LINK
Statement from NH AFL-CIO
Statement by President Mark S. MacKenzie
Over the past week the NH AFL-CIO has been working with the Obama for President Campaign around the issue of the Verizon Wireless Arena and the inability to overcome the barriers that would allow IATSE to practice their craft.
The NH AFL-CIO working closely with our affiliate, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts, has reached a satisfactory agreement with the campaign. There will not be a picket.
We are confident that Senator Obama supports the rights of workers to organize and to work under collective bargaining agreements. Senator Obama has made clear both personally and through his votes in the United States Senate that he understands that the clearest path to the middle class is through a union.
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