AFL-CIO stays neutral in Illinois secretary of state’s race, months after affiliated workers backed Giannoulias
SPRINGFIELD — The umbrella organization of organized labor in Illinois has decided to not make an endorsement for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state, despite more than half of its nearly 900,000 workers who’ve already pledged their support for Alexi Giannoulias.
Tim Drea, the president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, said Thursday that “the candidates had support from affiliates on both sides,” but none could get the two-thirds support necessary for an endorsement from the umbrella organization.
By the end of last year, Giannoulias had already secured an array of key union endorsements, includingthat amass more than half a million of the organization’s nearly 900,000 workers. But an endorsement from the umbrella organization itself could go a long way for any of the candidates going into the November general election because labor unions generally favor Democrats.
“Alexi is leading the race when it comes to endorsements from organized labor with announced support from a broad-based coalition of unions that represent more than 600,000 Illinoisans statewide,” a campaign spokesperson said in the statement Thursday. “Alexi has proven himself as tireless fighter who has a record of protecting and supporting working families.”