Obama headlines labor rally

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070303obama-story,1,5429335.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

Obama headlines labor rally

By John McCormick
Tribune staff reporter
Published March 3, 2007, 2:04 PM CST

With Democrats in control of Congress and seeking to boost a struggling labor movement, national union leaders joined Illinois' two senators at a rally Saturday in Chicago to promote legislation to make it easier for workers to join a union against the wishes of their employers.

"We will pass the Employee Free Choice Act. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when," said Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). "We may have to wait for the next president to sign it, but we will get this thing done."

The Democratic presidential candidate headlined the rally before traveling to Alabama for a Sunday event commemorating the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march, an occasion that also will attract Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and her husband.

In his speech to about 1,500 labor activists at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Obama reflected on the crusades of Martin Luther King in support of the labor movement.

"He didn't just march for justice that day," he said. "They were marching for jobs."

Two protesters briefly interrupted Obama's speech. One of them carried a large sign that appeared to be critical of statements the senator made Friday to a pro-Israel group in Chicago where he said he would not rule out military action against Iran because of its uranium-enrichment program.

"OK. We appreciate that," Obama said, trying to deflect the situation, as the protesters were escorted from the ballroom. "I oppose the war in Iraq."

FULL story at link.