Labor leaders from across the Lehigh Valley gathered at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 375 Union Hall in Allentown on Thursday to endorse Bob Brooks’ campaign for Congress in his race against US Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s (R-Pa.).
Brooks, a 20-year retired firefighter and president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, received the endorsement. Brooks received the backing of the Lehigh Valley Labor Council and a unanimous endorsement from the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.
READ: A working-class candidate: Bob Brooks sets progressive agenda
“ Bob’s one of us,” said Jim Irwin, president of the Lehigh Valley Labor Council, in an interview with The Keystone. “He’s a union member, he’s our brother, and he’s going to win. He’s going to go out to DC, and he’s going to fight for working families.”
He was also endorsed by the North Eastern Pennsylvania Building & Construction Trades Council, the Lehigh Valley Building & Construction Trades Council, and the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, representing over 60 local trade unions in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District.
“ There are a lot of politicians in Washington who like to talk the talk about working people. Bob is actually one. So when he gets to Congress, he’ll be able to push for laws that will actually work for people like you and me,” Irwin said during the press conference.
With over 60% of Americans considered working class, Brooks is trying to break through and become part of the small group of legislators that held or previously held jobs in Congress that are considered working class.
“ I’m a blue-collar guy. I literally got up and went to work for the last twenty years as a city Bethlehem firefighter, and I’ve worked for my members as a union leader for that exact time,” Brooks said in an interview. “ I work for my members, better healthcare, better wages, better working conditions, and that’s really what people want.”
Brooks launched his campaign last year with the backing of Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and US Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), and has accumulated support from the progressive-leaning Working Families Party and more than 15 labor unions.
READ: AFGE looks to Bob Brooks to build their congressional majority
While labor leaders were heaping praise upon Brooks’ track record, they said they couldn’t help but highlight Mackenzie’s history of lining up against organized labor.
Mackenzie was first elected to the Pennsylvania House in 2012 and became a proponent for right-to-work laws, which weaken union funding and make it harder for unions to survive, shortly thereafter.
“ Whether it’s blocking a living wage or gutting the unemployment system, Ryan Mackenzie has proven he serves corporate donors and not the laborers of the Lehigh Valley,” Jim Reilly, vice president of the Philadelphia Building Trades and business manager with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 542, said at the press conference.
“Bob understands what matters to working families, fair pay, retirement security, safe workplaces, and a strong public school system,” he said.
