Labor Wins When They Run Union Members for Office
A new report from the Center for Working-Class Politics, Arizona State University’s Center for Work and Democracy, and Jacobin shows how labor can play to its strengths — and win. The secret? Run more union members for office.
Taylor Rehmet, a local president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, won the runoff election for the state senate in Texas. (Eleanor Dearman / Fort Worth Star-Telegram / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Out east in Maine, the polls show Graham Platner, a union-recruited oysterman, trouncing both current State Governor Janet Mills, the establishment Democrat pick, and Susan Collins, the incumbent Republican senator.
It’s not just blue states either. Down in deep-red Alabama, dues-paying plumber Andrew Sneed is outraising his GOP opponent, incumbent Representative Dale Strong, all while forgoing corporate donations. And in Texas, Taylor Rehmet, a local president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, just stunned pundits by handily winning a runoff for the state senate.
Time will tell how Rehmet fares in office and whether Platner and Sneed notch victories at the ballot box. Regardless, something seems to be happening out there for the very few union-linked candidates we have put out in the field — and in not exactly labor-friendly regions either.
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