The Democratic candidates for president, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, have both spent time in New York City recently and gained the support of local unions there. Sanders, who has run on a platform of economic and social justice before all else, spoke to striking Verizon workers on April 13th. Though neither of the unions involved in that strike have officially endorsed either Democratic candidate, Sanders did gain the support of the Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents 42,000 people. Clinton, meanwhile, got the endorsement of the Local 3 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents over 27,000 people.
While there are certainly a number of unions around the country that haven’t officially endorsed any candidate yet, it seems unlikely that many of them will endorse Trump or Cruz, as the link between unions and Democrats runs deep. Sanders is especially likely to gain the support of more militant or radical unions, considering his longstanding socialist platform and consistent economic rhetoric.
Clinton doesn’t have quite the same record on economic issues, but she is a Democrat with a lot of political experience, which should go a long way. Unlike Sanders, she does have a lot of support from major corporations, which are, historically and ideologically, not exactly allies with unions. That may work against her in the primaries, but if she wins the nomination, she’ll simply be the Democratic candidate. As the primaries draw to a close and the general election kicks in, we’ll no doubt see more unions throwing their vocal support behind one candidate or another.
Both candidates picked up some other important endorsements recently as well, including the Daily News for Clinton and Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon for Sanders. Merkely marks Sanders’s first endorsement from a fellow senator during this primary season.
