Clinton, Obama pledge allegiance to union workers

PHILADELPHIA - Barack Obama told Pennsylvania unions yesterday that he will fight the type of trade deals struck by the Clinton and Bush administrations, while rival Hillary Clinton proposed $7 billion in tax breaks for corporations to persuade them to keep jobs in this country.

Both Democrats portrayed themselves as labor's best friend as they campaigned in Pennsylvania, where 830,000 union voters are expected to have a strong say in the state's April 22 primary.

With both candidates wooing union members, displaced workers, and anxious families, they quarreled again over which of them would oppose or modify trade deals such as the North America Free Trade Agreement, a deal with Mexico and Canada that was struck during Bill Clinton's presidency. Some labor leaders blame NAFTA for sending US jobs overseas, an assertion that many economists dispute.

At an economic summit yesterday in Pittsburgh organized by her campaign, Clinton announced a proposal to eliminate tax breaks for companies that move jobs to other countries and use the savings to persuade companies to keep jobs in the United States.

Clinton's plan would offer new tax benefits for research and job development. It would also create "innovation and research clusters" across the country, and provide $500 million annually in investments to encourage the creation of high-wage jobs in clean energy.

At the meeting of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Obama said, "What I oppose . . . are trade deals that put the interests of Wall Street ahead of the interests of American workers. That's why I opposed NAFTA."