On June 17, the Maine AFL-CIO endorsed Maine state Representative John Eder for re-election. This is the first time the AFL-CIO has endorsed a Green Party nominee for state legislature when there was a Democratic nominee also in the race. The AFL-CIO, or various component parts of it, has also been giving official support to the Working Families Party in certain states, and the Labor Party in South Carolina. This increasing interest on the part of the AFL-CIO in parties other than the two major parties is highly significant, and the national mainstream news media is missing the story.
That is better than the CT AFL-CIO endorsing Lieberman so he can go out an vote for another free trade agreement. That is how he thank them. Of course in CT the AFL-CIO chairman was once the Democratic Party chairman and held both position at the same time.
Actually, I was endorsed by the AFL-CIO in my Green Party campaign for state representative (PA-85) in 2002. There was no Democrat in that race, so I believe Eder is the first to be endorsed in a three-way race.
The AFL-CIO has also endorsed Arnold Karr’s campaign for Superintendent of Education in South Carolina — a statewide position.
I am thrilled to see that Eric has beaten me to the punch and has already pointed out Arnold’s endorsement. This was a state-wide endorsement, and was given *before* the Democratic or Republican nominee was choosen.
I believe this happened for a few reasons. First off, Arnold has served as President of the association which represents South Carolina’s prison system educators, and as such, also served on the state Education Association. In other words, many of the state’s labor leaders already knew Arnold.
In addition, we have one of the most forward looking AFL-CIO’s in the nation. Led by the amazing Donna DeWitt, the state’s unions have been supported, as best we can with meger resources, by the Green Party at every turn.
Finally, none of the Democratic candidates, nor any of the Republican candidates, sought the AFL-CIO endorsement. I feel pretty sure that this slight was not unnoticed.