Unions to give their support to Kerry in spite of Bush's help

Both candidates are fighting hard for the state's votes.
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) -- Even steel workers who ardently support John Kerry acknowledge President Bush was there when they needed him, slapping tariffs on imported steel that bought some struggling U.S. companies time to consolidate.
Today, steelmakers are riding a wave of record-high prices for their products. But the downturn will come, as it always does, and leaders of the two unions in West Virginia say that next time, they want a Democrat in their corner.
Both the United Steelworkers of America and the Independent Steelworkers Union are allied with Bush's Democratic challenger, who appealed for support in his first visit to Wheeling in April.
The ISU, which represents International Steel Group workers in Weirton, hasn't endorsed Kerry yet but plans to share the stage with him today at the Heritage Port. The USWA has gone door to door all week, drumming up support for Kerry in Ohio and West Virginia.
"There are people all over the country who don't vote because they don't want to take the time," said Myron Rees, of USWA Local 1190 in Steubenville, Ohio. "Now, the working man needs to stand up, and the way the working man can stand up is to vote. We've got to get a change now because what we have in there right now is not helping the working man."
Five electoral votes
Both candidates are fighting hard for West Virginia's five electoral votes, which Bush captured four years ago. This will be Kerry's fifth trip to the state since March. Bush has made four trips since March.
"We can't dispute that the steel industry is as good as it's been since the 1970s, but the Bush administration can't dispute the loss of 220,000 jobs in Ohio and 28,000 manufacturing jobs in West Virginia," said steel worker John Saunders of Elm Grove. "Those are real jobs, and that trend has to stop."
Steelmakers are turning profits now, but Saunders said the massive buildup of China's steel industry is a looming concern.
"The up cycle is a short period of time," he said. "The down period is devastating."
Trusts Democrats
Retired steel worker Tom Jones, who toiled for decades under Republican and Democratic presidents alike, said he always did better under Democrats. He believes Kerry will have a more sympathetic ear than Bush the next time the industry needs help.
"The two terms Bill Clinton spent in office, I worked the best in my life and made more money than ever before," said Jones, 59, of Wheeling. "Republicans are for rich people, and Democrats are for the working man."
Bush supporters are quick to point out that such prosperity had little to do with who was in the White House. To them, Kerry's vows to stand up for steel ring hollow.
"Clinton and the Democrats came to the Northern Panhandle when they were running, and they still did nothing," said Josephine Weidman, 79, of Warwood.
"The steel situation would be tough for anybody who's president," said laborer Larry O'Neil, 58, of Warwood. "Kerry's not going to be a fix-all for that."
Mary Diamond, a spokeswoman for the Bush campaign, said steel workers should support the president because he was there when it counted.
'Took action'
"Bush took historic action that no other president had taken," she said. "You can see locally how that helped out with Weirton Steel and ISG. It helped them consolidate, and many Weirton employees have jobs today because of that consolidation.
"Steel workers know now that President Bush is going to keep his word."
But Rees said that's only partly true.
"He brought the tariffs in, and that was a good thing," he said. However, "As soon as he closed the front door, he opened the back door. ... He almost exempted everybody he put on the tariff. It was nice, on paper."
And steel workers remain concerned about past suffering. The former Weirton Steel has more than 9,000 retirees, including many in Ohio, who lost health and life insurance, along with some of their pensions.
ISU Vice President Mark Roach said help is also needed for workers between 55 and 65 who lost their jobs as Weirton downsized and went bankrupt. They are too young for Medicare and rely heavily on the federal Health Care Tax Credit, which can cover up to two-thirds of their premiums.
Republican congressional leaders want to reduce or end that program, and the unions want Kerry and Bush to state their positions.
The ISU met with Bush administration officials but got no response. Roach doesn't expect one.
The union wants the eligibility age for the tax credit lowered to 50, which would encompass another 1,400 former Weirton workers. In April, Roach said, Kerry told the union he could support that.
The ISU will issue an endorsement after today's rally.
"We haven't heard what we want to hear from either of them yet," Roach said. "But I think we've heard more positive things from Kerry than from Bush."