USW Endorses Angus King for Maine's New U.S. Senator

King stands up for workers, good jobs, education, retirement security

BANGOR, Maine, Oct. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Maine Labor Council of the United Steelworkers (USW) District 4, today announced endorsement support of  former governor Angus King as an Independent who is the front running candidate for the U.S. Senate.

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The USW endorsement could be a deciding factor in the contest, coming 10 days before Election Day on Nov. 6. The USW is one of only a few AFL-CIO affiliate unions in Maine to go public for the former governor. This translates to organized early voting efforts, GOTV phone banking, Election Day visibility at the polls and contributions.

The USW in Maine represents more than 4,000 active members employed at pulp and paper mills that are an economic mainstay of the state's major industry, plus a diversity of other workers who service heavy construction equipment, manufacture paper plates, transport petroleum and serve in municipal offices.

John Shinn, Director for the USW New England District 4 region, made the announcement in Bangor following a meeting of the council. "We have been listening to our membership, and they want us to advocate publicly for the best candidate that can win the U.S. Senate seat with our support. Former Gov. Angus King shows he stands up for working families. He has the best leadership experience to address our issues of income and retirement security among Maine's pulp and paper mills."

He adds: "We resent the surge in Republican Super PAC monies from outside our state that are being used to attack King's candidacy. We don't want Super PACs buying elections. We believe working families' decisions on candidates for Congress make votes the deciding factor."

Patrick Carleton, USW Local 9 President representing workers at the SAPPI paper mill in Skowhegan, and president of the Maine Labor Council, declared: "We are not tied to political party labels, and we're dismayed by the direction of Republican candidates for Congress, and the state's current Republican governor. We endorse Angus for his proven history on economic and education issues that concern our USW paper workers and families all across the state. He deserves our support and votes as the next U.S. Senator."

Both Shinn and Carleton said in a joint statement: "Angus King's professed intentions, his longtime identity with the Democrats and his recent campaign's defense of working families against the Republican leadership has encouraged us to proceed with our full support. We believe our union members' votes can be the margin he needs to win."

SOURCE USW