Firefighters Union Likely To Endorse Obama

Members of the International Association of Fire Fighters are almost evenly spilt over who they say they'll vote for in the fall election, but it appears that the union, which represents 288,000 first responders, is poised to endorse presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

According to an internal memo, a recent independent poll shows that members rated Obama higher on "pocketbook" issues and, overall, believe that "Obama has a better record or will be a better president when it comes to fire service, labor, and IAFF issues," according to union president Harold Schaitberger. And that includes, most importantly, he said, Obama's support for collective bargaining "and his opposition to mandatory Social Security for our members."

Sixty-three percent of IAFF members surveyed by Zogby International said that they believe Obama is better prepared than McCain to deal with a flagging economy, their No. 1 issue. And they preferred Obama's positions on healthcare and Social Security. But 65 percent said that McCain would be more effective in fighting terrorism, which is among members' top five issues--after the economy, the Iraq war, gas and utility prices, and healthcare.

Zogby found that if the election were held today, 41 percent of the union members would vote for McCain, 38 percent for Obama, with 19 percent still undecided. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percent. Nearly 90 percent of the union's members are white working-class men, according to the IAFF, and 95 percent of them say they are "very likely" to vote in the November election.

The union in 2004 endorsed Democrat John Kerry, and its members campaigned vigorously for him. This cycle, it endorsed Democrat Christopher Dodd, but has not made another endorsement since Dodd dropped out early in the primary season.

A snapshot of the poll's additional findings:

• 72 percent of IAFF members say they think the country is on the "wrong track."
• 73 percent have a negative opinion of President Bush's job performance.
• 69 percent said the economy is the most important issue facing the country.
• 42 percent said "staying the course" in Iraq is important or highly important.
• 56 percent said "getting troops out of Iraq" is important or highly important.
• 64 percent agree that "Barack Obama is a patriotic American."
• 97 percent agree that "John McCain is a patriotic American."

Corrected on 7/22/08: An earlier version of this story used the wrong first name for the president of the firefighters' union. His name is Harold Schaitberger.