Josh Shapiro Wins Major Union Endorsement In PA Governor's Race

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, who lives in Abington and serves as the state's current attorney general, won the endorsement of a labor union on Monday during rally in the city.

The SEIU Pennsylvania State Council, which comprises four major SEIU locals in Pennsylvania, endorsed Shapiro for Pennsylvania governor, offering with its endorsement an initial campaign investment of $250,000.

The campaign says that the SEIU, which is the state's third -largest union, will, over the next year, run a "massive organizing program" to elect Shapiro as the commonwealth's next chief executive.

"For far too long, major corporations have rigged the rules in their favor and have left working people in the dust — and following a pandemic that magnified those injustices, we can't go back to the 'normal' 'that never worked for essential workers," Gabe Martin, president of the SEIU PA State Council and vice president of SEIU 32BJ, said in a statement. "Pennsylvania workers need bold leadership, and they need a governor who will use every tool at his disposal to rewrite the rules to hold corporations responsible and put power back in the hands of working people."

Martin said the state needs a governor who will "make it easier for every Pennsylvanian to join or form a union and ensure that every worker earns at least $15 an hour."

Shapiro, in his own statement, chastised Harrisburg Republicans who have "spent years undermining organized labor and attacking the right to organize — but when I'm Governor, I'll always have Pennsylvania workers' backs."

Shapiro said his goal is to make sure every Pennsylvania worker earns a living wage and that the SEUI has been on the "frontlines of that fight, and I'm proud to have their support in my campaign to move our Commonwealth forward."

The SEUI, or Service Employees International Union, represents about 2 million diverse members in healthcare, the public sector and property services, according to its website.

The SEIU PA State Council is comprised of 32BJ SEIU, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, SEIU Local 668 and the Pennsylvania Joint Board of Workers United.

Shapiro, a resident of Montgomery County, is a Democratic former county commissioner and former state representative who was first elected Pennsylvania Attorney General in 2016. He was since reelected last year and is currently serving out his second term.