International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 51 Endorses Terry McAuliffe for Governor

From the McAuliffe for Governor campaign…a stark contrast to the virulently anti-worker, anti-union Glenn Trumpkin…er, Youngkin.

MCLEAN, VA – The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 51 today endorsed Terry McAuliffe for governor of Virginia, citing Terry’s proven record on jobs and workforce development as Virginia’s 72nd Governor and his plans to continue to fight for workers and their families.

As Virginia’s 72nd Governor, Terry created 200,000 good-paying jobs, raised personal income 14%, and reduced unemployment to 3.3%, despite inheriting a record budget deficit and facing the effects of the Great Recession and sequestration. Terry also secured a record $1 billion investment in education, redesigned the high school experience with an eye toward workforce readiness, invested in apprenticeships, and created the first-in-the-nation New Economy Workforce Credentials Act, which enabled 24,000 people to get high-demand credentials and step into good jobs.

As Governor, Terry will rebuild Virginia’s post-COVID-19 economy. He will invest in education and expand pathways to jobs, including through apprenticeship programs. And, he will invest in workers, requiring paid family and medical leave and raising the minimum wage to $15/hour by 2024.

“Terry McAuliffe’s stated vision for investment in Virginia workers–with the use of registered apprenticeships, increased infrastructure work and projects, his commitment to increasing wages and enhancing benefits for workers in the construction industry–will provide for an improved and more sustainable quality of life for our members, and those are among the essential reasons we need Terry McAuliffe to lead Virginia forward and onward,” said District 51’s Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer, Brian Courtien.

“I’m proud to have the endorsement of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 51,” said Terry McAuliffe. “Workers in the construction industry are critical as we initiate new infrastructure projects across the Commonwealth and keep Virginia the #1 state in the nation for business. We can’t make that happen without paid leave, apprenticeships, and raising the minimum wage. I will fight for painters and tradesmen every day as governor.”

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 51 joins numerous other prominent local and national organizations in supporting Terry, including the Virginia Professional Fire Fighters, the Equality Virginia Advocates, Virginia Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, Teamsters Joint Council 83, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, Giffords, Brady PAC, NRDC, Emgage Virginia, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), CASA in Action, the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), UNITE HERE Local 23, and SMART union.

Terry has released 18 detailed plans to strengthen Virginia’s education system and dramatically increase teacher pay, help secure Virginia’s economic recovery from COVID-19, reform our criminal justice system, ensure Virginians have access to regular nutritious meals, address the broken, predatory system of prescription drug pricing, confront the gun violence epidemic, make Virginia the best state in the nation for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Health Care (STEM-H) and computer science education, tackle the housing crisis in the Commonwealth and invest in Virginia’s workforce in the post-COVID economy, ensure Virginians have access to high-quality, affordable health care, tackle climate change and secure Virginia’s clean energy future by 2035, lift up Black Virginians as the Commonwealth rebuilds from the COVID-19 pandemic, further advance LGBTQ+ rights, create a flourishing rural economy, support entrepreneurial ecosystems and tackle rising costs and meet the health care needs, make higher education more affordable and boost Virginia’s agriculture and forestry industries.