A peculiar alliance continued to develop during Labor Day weekend.

President Bush visited Michigan on Monday - his fourth stop in the state since he took office - to visit Teamsters in Detroit. The president’s public appearance places the spotlight on a growing relationship between the Republican Party and union labor, traditionally powerful in Michigan.

Republicans have hardly been historically tied to the nation’s most powerful unions, but in a show of bi-partisanship, Teamsters President James P. Hoffa has reached out to the right - and conservatives such as Bush are reaching back.

The Teamsters deserve credit for stepping over party lines in the interest of organized labor and in attracting Bush to the state he lost in last year’s general election and Republican primary. Hoffa’s union is backing the administration’s energy plan - which promises to create thousands of Teamster jobs - and conservative lawmakers are undoubtedly hoping this newfound alliance can take money from Democrats’ pocketbooks for their own campaigns.

But while Bush preaches he is on the side of working men and women for the purpose of economic growth, his actions must speak louder than his words. The policies he sets in motion have to support the working class.

Time will tell whether this meeting marks an advancement in labor or a game of political chess. Bush holds the key in his veto authority to major improvements for labor in this nation. And the unions could decide whether this president is mocked by history with only one term or honored with two.

Let us not forget this day. For Monday could mark the beginning of a different political world, when unions draw more votes for Bush and other Republicans than the traditionally endorsed Democrats of past.