Kerry's Steady Flame
How the firefighters union became one of the candidate's most potent political allies
Star turn. Schaitberger's strategy for political influence has long favored early endorsements. "In politics, it's always best to be a first responder. You've got to get in early or be a big enough horse to make a difference. Anything else, you're just along for the ride," says Schaitberger, who also was one of Al Gore's earliest supporters in the 2000 election. There's little doubt the relationship with Kerry has been as good for Schaitberger and his union as it's been for Kerry. Kerry supports a plan to add 100,000 firefighters to the nation's payrolls, and he has sponsored the proposed Federal Firefighters Fairness Act, which would make it easier for them to receive benefits for job-related illnesses. Schaitberger is also reaping rewards from his early decision to go with Kerry and to stick with him. Last week, he was named vice chairman of a new AFL-CIO campaign strategy committee, giving him a major role in directing the efforts of millions of union members now pledged to support Kerry. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney joked that Schaitberger will be the only union guy with keys to the executive bathroom at the White House.
Schaitberger recently fired some of the first volleys in the general election when he lambasted the Bush campaign for airing television ads depicting firefighters at the scene of the World Trade Center disaster (box). And by alleging that Bush has failed to adequately fund both new firefighters and firefighting equipment, Schaitberger has helped "change the image of how committed Bush and his team are to the security of the average American," says former Michigan congressman David Bonior, a labor studies professor at Wayne State University.
Kerry and Schaitberger are tight-lipped about their strategy for making the most of the union troops in the campaign. While Kerry says the firefighters will remain "front and center," Schaitberger says he's prepared to "do what we did last week. . . . If the Bush campaign tries to use us as a political backdrop again, we're going to be very aggressive in challenging that."
In other words, he'll fight fire with fire.
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