Keith Ellison Secures Nations Biggest Labor Endorsement
Keith Ellison Secures Nation’s Biggest Labor Endorsement
Zach Carter
Huffington Post
“Representative Ellison meets the high standard working people expect from leaders of our political parties,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a written statement. “He is a proven leader, who will focus on year-round grassroots organizing to deliver for working families across America.”
The AFL-CIO represents 56 different labor unions. The New York Times reported last week that a few labor unions had pushed back against the federation offering an early endorsement in the DNC Chair race, but several large unions, including Communication Workers of America and United Steelworkers, had already announced their support for Ellison, as had key labor figures like the chiefs of the American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Ellison backed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during the Democratic presidential primary, and his candidacy has quickly converted the DNC race into a proxy battle over the direction of the party after Hillary Clinton’s loss to president-elect Donald Trump. Ellison is pressing to refocus party attention on working people by emphasizing small-dollar fundraising, much as the Sanders campaign did. Most recent DNC chairs, including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), have focused on major corporate donors.
But the DNC election remains more than two months away, and other candidates have also secured prominent supporters. South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison, a former corporate lobbyist, has been endorsed by the third-ranking House Democrat, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). President Barack Obama has signaled support for either Labor Secretary Thomas Perez or former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who both endorsed Clinton in the Democratic primary.