The value of the union endorsement may not be what it was in the 1950s, when union membership was stronger in Rhode Island and when information about candidates was less available.
But candidates for statewide office still court these endorsements, which can mean an infusion of campaign contributions, as well as at least the potential of union turnout at the polls.
The endorsement of labor groups, as well as influential organizations that can rally voters on particular issues, is most important in the primary elections, according to Rhode Island political science professors and labor leaders.
This year, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo was able to secure the endorsement of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, a labor organization that includes professionals, such as teachers, as well as construction laborers. The endorsement was among several dozen she’s received in the current election.
“My father worked in a factory,” Raimondo said in a statement responding to the endorsement. “My grandfather was a union meat-cutter. … There is no middle class without a strong labor movement.”
The labor movement, however, doesn’t turn out the votes like it once did, says Adam Myers, an assistant professor of political science at Providence College.
“In earlier decades … various organizations, social organizations and unions had a more central role,” he said. “People got much of their information about candidates through those channels.”
Wendy Schiller, a political science professor at Brown University, said the importance of an endorsement for a candidate is to act as a guidepost for voters on important issues.
Raimondo, who is seeking re-election, did not secure an endorsement this year from either of the two teachers unions in Rhode Island. Neither did her leading opponent, Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung.
The teachers remain angry at Raimondo over the loss of cost-of-living allowances for retirees, which she approved as treasurer, as well as her veto last year of legislation that would have extended teacher contracts that had expired without renewal.
“We’ve spoken to the governor, but at this point we haven’t and don’t expect we will make an endorsement in that race,” said Frank Flynn, president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals.
The union, which has 10,000 members, mostly in public schools, also won’t be backing Fung. The mayor angered Cranston educators, Flynn said, through actions including an effort to create mayoral academy charter schools.
Advocacy groups with a strong following can still help make a difference in elections, say political observers.
“Endorsements are still important [in Rhode Island] and valuable in attracting a campaign’s foot soldiers and volunteers, building momentum, securing party endorsements and identifying voters and getting them to the polls,” said Gary Sasse, founding director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.
