Forward Oregon

Over the last three days, more union support has lined up behind Jeff Merkley as he vies to secure the Democratic Senate nomination and take on Gordon Smith this fall. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the American Federation of Teachers endorsed Merkley on Thursday and Friday respectively. This follows a number of larger unions and the AFL-CIO who previously endorsed Merkley.

When explaining why the AFT endorsed Merkley, AFT-Oregon President Mark Schwebke reminded people of Jeff Merkley’s long record of fighting with unions:

“AFT-Oregon is excited to recommend Jeff for his longstanding commitment to Oregon’s education system and to working families across the state. Jeff has stood with us for better health care in Oregon, a more stable economy, and his critical role in directing the largest increase in higher education funding in Oregon in memory. He cares about working families, and the educational future of all Oregonians.”

Clif Davis, business manager of IBEW Local 48, similarly remarked:

“Jeff has been a champion for Oregon workers for nearly a decade in the legislature. He comes from a union family, so he understands the values of fair treatment and hard work. And Jeff knows that a highly skilled workforce is a key to a strong economy. Our members are excited to get to work right away for Jeff to help him build the biggest grassroots campaign Oregon has ever seen.”

Both the IBEW and the AFT represent about 10,000 workers in Oregon. While they don’t represent the large number of workers that AFSCME or the AFL-CIO do, the solidarity in the labor movement behind Merkley represents a failure by the Novick Campaign to pick off any smaller unions, once his key ally.  Merkley’s strength with organized labor is an indicator that he is doing the best job on the campaign trail arguing for jobs and the middle class, something that was extremely important in Iowa last week, and will continue to be important throughout the 2008 election.