On board for Obama

Female dockworkers and women representing other unions gathered briefly Wednesday at the International Longshoremen's Association Hall in Charleston to proclaim their support for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, who enjoys strong union organization backing.

While waiting for a tardy television crew to arrive at the press conference, Obama's South Carolina director, Clay Middleton, said Democrats are making the strongest bid to win the state since Jimmy Carter carried South Carolina in 1976.

The lack of candidate visits and advertisements might suggest otherwise. However, Middleton said the Obama campaign now has more than 30 staff members in South Carolina and more than 40 field offices, and has registered more than 200,000 voters.

Unions are playing a role in the Obama effort, and a voter-registration drive was under way at the ILA hall. The union organizations support Obama because he supports union-friendly legislation, but individual members have reasons of their own.

"I support Barack Obama because he understands the challenges I face every day," said Shaniese Snype, a third-generation dockworker who calls herself a Longshorelady. "His opponents have offered nothing tangible to improve our lives."

Snype previously worked for the state Department of Social Services processing food stamp applicants. She said the fact that Obama's mother at times relied upon food stamps means that he understands the challenges faced by many others.

Middleton said Republicans are taking South Carolina for granted in this presidential election, but the state Republican Party disagrees.

"We're not taking any votes for granted in South Carolina and especially not in the Lowcountry," said Rob Godfrey, communications director for the S.C. Republican Party. "We've got one of the country's best Victory '08 get-out-the-vote organizations, with a regional office located right there in Charleston, and we're working harder than ever to ensure that Republicans win up and down the ballot."

Donna Dewitt said union members are particularly concerned about Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's health care proposal, which would tax employer-provided health care benefits in order to provide a tax credit for the purchase of health insurance. Dewitt said most union members have employer-provided health care, so the plan would be a losing proposition for them. She said McCain's favorable rating among union members has dropped significantly since the union began an outreach effort.