(Warner Todd Huston/The Union Label) – In the race for the Chicago Mayor’s office we have seen quite a lot of evidence that Chicago’s union bosses are not big Rahm Emanuelites. This week we got another hint in that direction as several more unions came out in support of Emanuel’s most serious opponent, Gery Chico.
The Chico campaign added a group of Chicago unions to its previous announcement of endorsements from the Chicago Firefighters and Police unions, a growing coalition that Chico says shows that he has “growing momentum with working families.”
Labor organizations that endorsed Chico today include the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 9, Sheet Metal Workers Local 73, Ironworkers Local 1, Laborers’ District Council of Chicago & Vicinity, Painters District Council #14 and the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers Local 11, together whose membership encompasses more than 60,000 hard working men and women in the Chicagoland area.
It is interesting to see the unions shy from the Emanuel campaign since Rahm is the presumed air apparent to the Daley crown not to mention that Rahm has Barack Obama’s overt support. The air of a winer coupled with the favor of a Democrat president is usually more than enough to get unions to line up like good little lemmings. But this is clearly not the case with Rahm Emanuel.
Emanuel isn’t helping himself out on this count, either. Recently, for instance, he seemed to be attacking the teachers union and he has had a history of antagonism with unions in the past.
Emanuel has even had one of his former campaign minions set up a campaign fund to start buying up Aldermen to get ahead of a similar plan by union operatives.
This is an altogether interesting situation, indeed. The Democrat front runner for a Democrat seat in a Democrat city is not being embraced by unions. Interesting indeed.
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
RSS