Earlier this week, as former mayor of New York and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani knocked labor unions’ disingenuous scheme to eliminate secret ballot votes on CNBC, Senators Clinton, Obama, and Edwards practically tripped over each other to support Employee Free Choice Act.

Clinton told the Communications Workers of America Legislative Political Conference:

You know, we believe in the opportunity for people to have freedom to make up their own mind. It’s like card checks. You know, you ask somebody, “You want to join a union,” and they say no, fine. More often, they’ll say yes. We want to give people that freedom across the globe. (subscription required)

Not to be outdone, Sen. Obama told the CWA delegates:

And so I’m saying to you, CWA, that I want your support. I want to be a partner with you. But most of all, I want you to keep on marching. I want you to keep on working. You know, I am absolutely confident that if we make that commitment, that things are going to change. So let’s make sure that we have a president in 2008 and a Congress in 2008 that is going to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. (subscription required)

Finally, Sen. Edwards, arguably Labor’s Golden Boy, made his pitch:

And I want to say to every one of you, I got a really simple idea about this. I look at you, I see a bunch of you with your Employee Free Choice buttons on. Good for you. Get over there to the Congress and make those people do what they’re supposed to do about this. But I want to say something to you first. Here’s what you ought to say to them: If somebody can join the Republican or Democratic party by signing their name to a card, any worker in America ought to be able to join a union by doing exactly the same thing! That’s democracy in the workplace! (subscription required)