Official Statement on 2006 Campaign for Governor and Mass. AFL-CIO Endorsement

Statement of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Executive Council
On the 2006 Campaign for Governor and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Endorsement
Braintree, Massachusetts ~ June 22, 2006

As the governing body of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, representing nearly 400,000 working families in over 700 local unions in the public, building trades, and industrial sectors in the Commonwealth, we have unanimously decided that we will not endorse a candidate in the campaign for governor at this time.

We have made this decision because we all agree that each of the three Democratic candidates would be a significantly stronger governor for working families in the Commonwealth than Kerry Healey or Christy Mihos. Kerry Healey has not made any effort to reach out to the working families we represent. While Christy Mihos did fill out our questionnaire and participate in our Candidates’ Forum, he clearly does not agree with us on how to improve life for working families in Massachusetts. All three Democratic candidates have answered our questionnaire, appeared at our Candidates’ Forum, reached out to our members, and demonstrated their commitment to bettering the lives of Massachusetts’ working families.

While some of us may have a favorite candidate in the Democratic Primary, we wanted to make this historic statement of solidarity: No matter which of the Democratic candidates wins the Primary Election on September 19th, we vow to come together behind the Democratic candidate immediately and dedicate our resources, our organization, our passion, and our energy in a campaign of steadfast solidarity to educate our members and their families as to the abysmal record of sixteen years of Republican governors and highlight the “bread and butter” issues that should be the focus of this election in order to ensure a Democratic victory on November 7th.

This election is too important to the future of working families in the Commonwealth to become involved in anything that will distract us from the ultimate goal of putting a pro-working family governor back in the Corner Office. For sixteen years four Republican governors have stayed in office just long enough to attack working families, ignore the problems in Massachusetts, and leave the state worse off than they inherited it before leaving us completely behind to pursue their own personal ambitions. Any of the three Democratic candidates will put an end to this depressing reign of unimpressive, ineffective, and downright indifferent Republican governors.

It is a real testament to the strength of the Democratic Party’s commitment to addressing the issues that plague working families in Massachusetts that they can field three qualified candidates who will fight for working families, while the Republicans can only field one candidate who does not care at all about people who have to work for a living.

Kerry Healey cannot run away from the record of the last four years and cannot deny her role in an administration that, like the three Republican administrations before it, has made life worse for working families in Massachusetts. We look forward to educating our members, their families, and the general public as to the failed record Kerry Healey must run on, and to endorsing and supporting whichever Democratic candidate wins the Primary Election and earns the role of the working families’ candidate.

***

See our 2006 Endorsements here.

***

The Massachusetts AFL-CIO is the largest umbrella labor organization in the Commonwealth, representing hundreds of thousands of working families from member unions and serves as the voice of working families in Massachusetts. Offices are located at 389 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. For additional information, call 781-324-8230 or visit www.massaflcio.org. Robert J. Haynes is the President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Tim Sullivan is the contact for the press and may be reached at (781) 324-8230.