Business and labour groups might have still more clout.
Labour groups have become vocal, demanding better job protection, higher wages, more benefits.
Business leaders, labour groups and many others agree, but the problem is cost.
The MPs were next, heading off to be assigned to local Labour groups and spend the afternoon knocking on doors.
Several labour groups, including the Clean Clothes Campaign and the Thai Labour Campaign, also voiced their anger over the sentence.
They built unusual coalitions (environmentalists and labour groups, for instance, bridged old gulfs to jeer the WTO together).
He is the only Democrat now facing negative TV ads from labour groups, attacking him for his vote.
And while labour groups have long been a reliable ATM for the Democrats in presidential elections, in state elections, they are less bound by partisan loyalties.
Photograph: YORGOS KARAHALIS/REUTERS 9.17am BST Greece protests get underway Crowds are gathering in Athens for today's marches organised by labour groups.
It's not perfect – the alliance's glaring flaw is a lack of participation from unions – but the US companies hope to bring in Bangladeshi and international labour groups.
Despite his enthusiasm, many Democrats and labour groups are concerned about what the TPP would mean for jobs in manufacturing and environmental protections.
