Steelworkers endorse Franken for U.S. Senate

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_3097


Steelworkers endorse Franken for U.S. Senate
24 May 2007
MINNEAPOLIS - The election for U.S. Senate in Minnesota is 18 months away, but the United Steelworkers have already chosen their candidate.

USW District 11 has endorsed Al Franken, who is seeking the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Norm Coleman.

Franken's "closeness to working families and our issues is the reason why Al received the near-unanimous support of the USW District 11," said Bob Bratulich, director of the district, which covers nine states including Minnesota.



The union cited Franken's support for fair trade and for the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to organize. "We know that he will stand up for working families and the things Steelworkers have fought for," Bratulich said.

Coleman was elected to the U.S. Senate following the death of Senator Paul Wellstone in a plane crash in October 2002, just days before the election. Franken, a comedian, author and former talk show host on Air America radio, was a close friend of Wellstone.

Although his career as a comedy writer took him to New York and Hollywood, Franken is a Minnesota native. Two years ago, he moved back to Minnesota to prepare for a Senate run. So far, he has nearly kept pace with Coleman's fundraising, garnering more than $1.35 million in contributions in the first quarter of 2007.

Minneapolis trial attorney Mike Ciresi and Nobel prize-winning chemist Peter Agre are also seeking the DFL nomination to oppose Coleman.