“I want to be absolutely clear that the reason I’m in public life, the reason I came to Chicago, the reason I started working with unions, the reason I march on picket lines, the reason that I am running for president is because of you, not because of folks who are writing big checks.” (Barack Obama, AFL-CIO Debate, 8/8/07).

General

Originally a community organizer in Chicago and an Illinois state legislator, Obama burst on the scene with his address at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Though he struggled for much of the year to translate his superstar following into poll numbers, he has now caught up to Sen. Hillary Clinton and is polling ahead or close behind in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Positions on Legislation

In Congress, Obama supported raising the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by 2009. As president, Obama would further raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the earned income tax credit.

Obama supports expansion of the FMLA, especially to spouses of military personnel deployed overseas, and supports efforts to guarantee workers seven days of paid sick leave per year.

Obama was a cosponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act in the U.S. Senate and supports a card check system. He has said that as president he would continue to work for passage of the bill and sign it into law.

Obama’s healthcare proposal–

• provides affordable, comprehensive and portable health coverage; mandates coverage of children, but not universal coverage
• supports modernizing the health care system, including wireless and paperless technologies, to reduce cost and improve quality of care
• focuses on disease prevention and increasing access to care to minimize long term costs
• requires fuller transparency of quality and cost, including full disclosure for patients.

Obama supports the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act and has touted his role as the principal sponsor of similar legislation in the Illinois state Senate.