ICYMI: Republicans Pick Up Unlikely Allies in Key House Races: Unions
In case you missed it…The New York Times is out with a new article highlighting the ongoing shift of union support from belonging exclusively to Democrats to now treading into Republican territory.
In the article, Rep. Mike Lawler is highlighted for his notable support from unions, “Mr. Lawler has won over unions representing boilermakers, electrical workers, plumbers and steamfitters who supported his Democratic opponent in 2022,” while his opponent openly insulted them: “Mr. Jones, on the other hand, had made little effort to court the union, Mr. Samuelsen said. “Mondaire Jones wouldn’t recognize me if he bumped into me at a fund-raiser,” he said. “He literally bumped into me at a Nancy Pelosi event at the Democratic convention, and he didn’t know who I was.””
Read more here and below.
Republicans Pick Up Unlikely Allies in Key House Races: Unions
New York Times
September 25, 2024
The president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters praised one Republican congressman on national television. A major transportation union rated another among its most loyal supporters in Congress. And an influential building trades group said a third would help begin “restoring the sense of unity” the country had lost.
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In New York’s Hudson Valley, Representative Mike Lawler has collected tens of thousands of dollars more in union donations than his Democratic opponent. Further upstate, a 1,500-member electrical workers’ union that once opposed Representative Marc Molinaro is now working to re-elect him. And in New Jersey, the state’s Building and Construction Trades Council not only flipped sides to support Representative Tom Kean Jr. but helped keep the Democrat-aligned A.F.L.-C.I.O. on the sidelines.
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Last week, the 1.3-million-member Teamsters voted to stay neutral in the race for president, a blow to Democrats after years of support. Prominent Republicans, including former President Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, have begun to speak in more explicitly pro-worker terms, though many labor leaders say their policies do not match their rhetoric. And leaders of some of the nation’s oldest unions increasingly find themselves grappling with how to respond to members shifting rightward.
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And yet, even the idea of Republicans and Democrats fighting in a general election over who is more friendly to working people represents a change.
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In the two years since he took office, Mr. Lawler has won over unions representing boilermakers, electrical workers, plumbers and steamfitters who supported his Democratic opponent in 2022. On Wednesday, two more groups, the Uniformed Fire Officers Association and the transport workers, were expected to endorse him.
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Read more here.