Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Presidential candidate John Edwards stopped by a Teamsters union barbeque in Chicago last weekend to give President James Hoffa a preview of the speech he delivered yesterday, talking tough about labor rights and trade protectionism.

Hoffa liked what he heard, and quickly realized Edwards's labor platform could pump up pressure on other 2008 presidential hopefuls on trade and overhauling labor laws to make it easier for workers to form unions. Hoffa now plans to ask Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, ``Do you agree with this?''

``Obama's not talking about it and Hillary isn't,'' Hoffa said in an interview at the cookout. ``They've got to articulate this if they are going to have the support of organized labor.''

Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, is urging union-friendly labor laws and higher taxes on the wealthy. He also would raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2012, target countries such as China that are accused of undervaluing their currency and impose new trade rules to help safeguard the interests of workers.

``It's not about closing trade down, but about the rules and making sure they work for working people and not just transnational corporations,'' David Bonior, Edwards's campaign manager and a former Democratic congressman from Michigan, said in an interview today.

Creating Distance

Clinton, 59, has already put some distance between herself and the free-trade policies of the administration of her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Edwards's plank may force her to go further, starting tonight with a Democratic presidential candidates' forum in Chicago before the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor federation.

Edwards, 54, has raised the stakes for his Democratic rivals by demanding stronger labor and environmental protections in U.S. trade agreements, including in the World Trade Organization. ``It's time that the president stood up and fought for American workers,'' he told a union hall crowd yesterday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

As president, Edwards said, he would insist on protections for dislocated workers and guarantees that imported products are safe.

``Our trade policies have been bad for working Americans,'' he said. ``Washington looks at every trade deal and asks one question, and only one question: Is it good for corporate profits?'' He denied that his platform is ``anti-trade'' or ``protectionist.''

Implied Criticism

His speech implied criticism of Senator Clinton's husband.

``For far too long, presidents from both parties have entered into trade agreements, agreements like Nafta, promising that they would create millions of new jobs and enrich communities,'' Edwards said. ``Instead, too many of these agreements have cost jobs and devastated towns and communities across this country.''

Negotiations for Nafta, the North American Free Trade Agreement, were completed under President George H.W. Bush. President Clinton won congressional approval for the accord and implemented it.

Tonight's AFL-CIO forum could be important for Obama, 46, who hasn't said a great deal about trade. He has said Nafta should be renegotiated and has broken with businesses that want to lower barriers to trade and capital.

Tax Credits

Last week, he proposed a measure that would provide tax credits and preferences in government contracts to ``patriotic'' companies that stay in the country. Companies would need to keep their headquarters and an overwhelming majority of their production in the U.S. and provide some health care and pension coverage.

Obama, like Edwards and Clinton, also calls for labor and environmental provisions in trade accords and policies that address workers' interests, not just those of big business, without being as tough or as specific as Edwards.

``Clinton has a lot of free-trade baggage,'' Bonior said. Obama ``just hasn't been very vocal on this.''

Clinton promoted her husband's trade agenda for years, and friends say that she is a free-trader at heart. ``The simple fact is, nations with free-market systems do better,'' she said in a 1997 speech.

Now, she is moving away from her husband's policies by opposing a trade deal with South Korea and raising questions about Nafta. ``We just can't keep doing what we did in the 20th Century,'' Clinton said in a March interview. She also suggested ``a little timeout'' in negotiating new agreements.

Helping the Worker

``We're going to have to figure out how to have trade agreements that actually help the American worker,'' the New York senator said in a July 27 campaign speech in Charleston, West Virginia.

Clinton has expanded her circle of advisers beyond pro-trade associates such as former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, 68, and Deputy Secretary Roger Altman, 60, her top economic adviser, to include AFL-CIO officials and other free-trade critics.

Thanks to Edwards, Hoffa now has more leverage to pressure the candidates on trade, a bedrock issue for the labor audience at tonight's convention forum.

Hoffa and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which isn't part of the AFL-CIO, will make a decision whether to endorse a Democratic candidate in primaries later this year. All the top contenders are seeking the support of the Teamsters and the other major unions.

Doing More

``I'd like to see those candidates do more,'' said Hoffa. ``I'd like to see Hillary walk picket lines.'' The Teamsters have 1.4 million members in such industries as trucking, construction, waste management and motion pictures.

Four years ago the big winner in the labor endorsement contest was former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. It didn't translate into success with the voters.

``Anything can happen,'' said Andy Stern, head of the 1.8 million-member Service Employees International Union, which gave Dean an early endorsement. ``Anybody who thinks they know should talk to Howard Dean around December of 2003 when he thought he was going to be president.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Chipman in Chicago at kchipman@bloomberg.net; Nicholas Johnston in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at njohnston3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 7, 2007 14:22 EDT