ME-SEN: Labor group that backed Susan Collins in 2014 endorses Sara Gideon
The Maine State Council of Machinists endorsed House Speaker Sara Gideon, a Democrat, for U.S. Senate, her campaign announced Friday, after previously backing incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican in 2014.
The council has about 5,000 members, and its affiliates include two unions at Bath Iron Works. Collins is among a small group of Republican politicians who has picked up endorsements from unions in the past, but several that backed her in 2014 indicated skepticism about her 2020 run last year, citing issues including Collins’ vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
Both Collins and Gideon have visited striking workers at BIW in recent weeks, where the Local S6 strike over a new contract has lasted more than a month. The council singled out Gideon’s support for the striking workers on Friday, with President Mark Vigliotta saying her actions “speak volumes about her dedication to working men and women.”
Gideon has picked up endorsements from unions including the Maine AFL-CIO, which usually endorses Democrats, as well as the Massachusetts and Northern New England Laborers District Council and the Painters and Allied Trades International Union District Council 35, both of which previously endorsed Collins.
https://bangordailynews.com/2020/07/31/politics/labor-group-that-backed-susan-collins-in-2014-endorses-sara-gideon/
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