Very nice endorsement for Tom Perriello!
Virginia Association of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Endorse Tom Perriello
IBEW Joins Four Other Virginia Labor and Trade Unions- Including IUPAT, the Keystone Mountain Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters, the Hampton Roads Building and Construction Trades Council, and the Richmond Building Trades Council- In Supporting Tom Perriello For Governor
On Thursday, May 25, the Virginia Association of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) formally announced their endorsement of Tom Perriello for governor. The Virginia Association of the IBEW is made up of 23 IBEW local labor unions, representing more than 10,000 working men and women in Virginia.
“Tom supports Virginia’s working families and the IBEW knows that. The highly skilled, hard working members of the IBEW keep Virginia powered and we are one of Virginia’s greatest assets,” said Jeff Rowe, President of the Virginia Association of IBEW and Business Manager of IBEW Local 1340 in Newport News. “We’ve done the research, and Tom Perriello’s policies in support of apprenticeships, technical training, and safe workplaces are the best for our members and for all of Virginia’s working families. His commitment to oppose Virginia’s detrimental Right-to-Work law sends a clear message. This law has weakened workers’ rights for 70 years. We are very pleased that someone running for state wide office has finally taken a strong pro-labor stance here in the Commonwealth,” added Rowe.
Today’s press call also included representatives from the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and the Keystone Mountain Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters who previously endorsed, reaffirming why Tom is the best candidate for organized labor and working families in Virginia.
“In his first race to the U.S. House of Representatives the carpenters union proudly stood with Tom Perriello because he stood with working people. Today we stand with Tom again in his race for governor because his campaign is speaking to those Virginians whose prosperity hasn’t grown with Virginia’s economy. The Carpenters’ union believes that as governor of Virginia, Tom Perriello will be a strong voice for the middle class, putting the rights of working people first, “said Ian Heinz, Virginia Political Director of the Keystone Mountain Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters. “There’s a reason why organized labor groups from across the Commonwealth have come together in support of Tom’s candidacy, and we’re ready to do whatever we have to make sure that we get see Tom Perriello past the post on June 13th primary and beyond,” stated Heinz.
“Tom has laid out the boldest vision of any candidate in this race to achieve meaningful progress on key issue areas such as infrastructure investments, improving worker health and safety, and protecting wages and benefits. The next governor must have a bold agenda, and Tom Perriello has shown he will fight for working families and for the issues that matter most to our union members. Tom Perriello is the leader we need to deliver for hardworking Virginians,” said Roxana Mejia, Legislative and Political Affairs Director of IUPAT District Council 51.
As governor, Tom is committed to supporting Virginia’s prevailing wage laws while cracking down on widespread payroll fraud that drives down construction industry wages and safety standards. He has proposed the most progressive agenda to support working families and grow our economy in modern Virginia history—including raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, providing two years free community college, apprenticeships and vocational training, paid family and medical leave, and universal pre-K. He has also put forward a sensible plan to fix Virginia’s tax system and generate the revenues needed to fund his growth-oriented investment in the working and middle class. Tom has also voiced opposition to Virginia’s Right -to-Work law, which has weakened worker rights for over 70 years.
“I am humbled and proud to have the support of IBEW, in addition to labor and trade unions across Virginia who have endorsed my candidacy. In light of a completely broken system of campaign finance, unions are one of the few forces out there that genuinely represent working people year in and year out,” said Tom Perriello. “Our goal is very simple. We want to put more Virginians to work – not just in a job, but in a career with pathways into the middle class that pay a living wage and beyond with affordable health care and economic security. Our career training programs and higher education have become too expensive, our wages have become too low, the level of fraud out there – from payday lenders to payroll fraud that have helped drive down the prospects for good honest folks just trying to make a living and support their family. We believe there is a different way. We think that we need to begin to adjust our economy to actually start working for everyday folks again. And that’s why our campaign has been the first to propose raising the minimum wage to $15 dollars an hour and move from an outdated K through 12 system into a P through 14 system that includes universal pre-K and at least two years of apprenticeship program vocational skills training programs or community college. We believe that in the next four years, we can shift that cycle of declining opportunity in debt and to a renewal of that American dream of pathways into careers,” added Perriello.
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