Bernie Sanders Gets His Chance To Woo Voters At The AFL-CIO Convention
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Today was democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' turn to woo Pennsylvania labor unions, appearing at the state AFL-CIO convention, one day after his rival Hillary Clinton in the primary race.
Senator Sanders brought his platform of universal Medicare, free higher education and a $15 minimum wage to a receptive audience.
It was a bit sparser than that for Clinton but equally enthusiastic. Where Clinton dismissed his ideas as dependent on a sudden conversion of conservative congressmen and governors, Sanders said they're actually dependent on a ground-up effort.
"We need in this country what you know more about than anybody else is the need to build a grass roots national political movement, what I call a political revolution," Bernie Sanders said.
Sanders has gained some union endorsements, Clinton others. Philadelphia's influential electricians and building trades leader John Dougherty says he's not sure if his union will make an endorsement before the primary, seeing the race as a win-win.
"Both Hillary and Bernie and the energy that's involved in the campaign is a marketing tool for unions," Dougherty said.
Union help will be an important tool in Pennsylvania's April 26th primary.