New Hampshire Labor unions that previously endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for the Democrat presidential nomination are now sitting out the 2020 primary race.
Two of the state’s largest unions that endorsed Sanders against failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 have yet to endorse him, Politico details in a new report:
One of the largest labor groups, which represents more than 10,000 New Hampshire state employees, broke with its national leadership when it issued an early endorsement of Sanders in the 2016 primary. Electrical workers joined a coalition of other unions to turbocharge the Sanders turnout operation that year. [Emphasis added]
Now, both organizations are remaining on the sidelines, refusing to pick a single candidate when several would suit them fine. Sanders is going to great lengths to lure their support — his campaign recently offered a free steak dinner to union members and hosted a rally for state employees who are fighting for a new contract. But nothing has moved the needle. [Emphasis added]
“There’s a lot of candidates talking about what he talked about last time,” said Rich Gulla, the president of SEA-SEIU Local 1984, which represents the state’s employees. “Look at the field and look at the polling. I could talk to a dozen different members and get a dozen different responses on who they like. There’s just too many in the field right now to narrow that down.” [Emphasis added]
In 2016, President Trump’s economic nationalist agenda of tariffing foreign imports, committing to throwing out the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and renegotiating the job-killing NAFTA agreement helped win over union workers.
Since then, union bosses have said they are worried that their rank-and-file members will stick with Trump in the 2020 election against Democrat challengers. Part of the play includes the finalized USMCA trade agreement which is set to replace NAFTA.
Despite historic union support for USCMA, where the AFL-CIO and the United Steelworkers have both endorsed the deal, Sanders has said he will oppose the effort in the Senate — a blow to unions aiding in crafting the finalized deal.
“By the way, the word ‘climate change’ to the best of my knowledge is not discussed in this new NAFTA agreement at all, which is an outrage,” Sanders said at the last Democrat debate of the union-supported USCMA.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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