The United Food and Commercial Workers Union announced Tuesday that it was endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, saying that polling of its 1.3 million members showed that the rank and file thought she was “not just the strongest presidential candidate, but the right one.”
“By working together, we believe our incredible members can help Secretary Clinton create the better America that our union family and all middle- and working-class families have earned and deserve,” said UFCW President Marc Perrone.
The Democratic presidential candidate said she was “honored” to have their support. “American workers built the greatest middle class in history by fighting for higher wages, safer working conditions, retirement security and the right to bargain collectively. The UFCW has been there every step of the way,” she said.
The former secretary of state has racked up several other major union endorsements despite a rather rocky history with the labor movement. The Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Laborers International Union of North America, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, among others, are backing her.
Clinton’s main rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a long-time ally of organized labor, has suggested that labor leaders have been rigging their unions’ endorsement processes in Clinton’s favor.
UFCW’s decision came with a sour assessment of the current economy. “We announce this endorsement with the full belief that the frustrations felt by the American people are real, and that they deserve an America where better wages and better benefits are enjoyed by all who help make this nation great,” Perrone said.
