Members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 last week endorsed U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack’s bid for another term as Minnesota’s 8th District congressional representative.
The endorsement came as members gathered in Duluth to screen candidates for the 8th Congressional District. The screening was open to all Local 49 members that lived in the 8th District, and was widely advertised on the union’s website and distributed via email, according to Jason George, the union’s legislative and political director. Members in attendance represented all corners of the 8th District.
After hearing from all three DFL candidates running in the Aug. 14 primary and Cravaack, “we had what turned out to be a very difficult conversation about who we should stand with in this election,” said a statement about the endorsement. “The conversation centered around jobs, our union, and the ability of our members to earn a good living. These are the core issues that bind us together as a group, and we decided that this should drive our endorsement.”
A strong majority voted in a secret ballot held the night of the screening for Cravaack.
“The members of Local 49 have spoken, and we are pleased to endorse Congressman Cravaack in the 8th District,” said George. “Local 49 is always ready to work with candidates of any party that are willing to support our jobs and our union. Congressman Cravaack has fought hard for construction workers in the 8th District, and we are going to stand with him this November.”
The union endorsed Tarryl Clark in 2010 for the congressional seat.
“Ultimately the membership decided we needed to take our partisan hats off, keep political party affiliation out of it, and make an evidence based decision,” said George in the statement.
The statement said that Cravaack’s term in office shows he has done a good job of staying away from partisan Washington politics and focusing issues that are important to construction workers in the district. “He is not afraid to stand up to his party when he disagrees with their direction, and his votes reflect that,” said George.
The statement notes that Congress has attempted seven times to repeal critical local contractor and worker protections in the Davis-Bacon Act, with Cravaack voting against party lines. It also notes that there have been several attempts to eliminate the ability of the government to use project labor agreements on federal projects which save the taxpayers money and ensure quality construction. Cravaack, said the statement, again voted against the party line and with construction workers and contractors that benefit from project labor agreements.
“Congressman Cravaack has an outstanding record on construction job creation — that is the 49er’s No. 1 issue,” said George. “Congressman Cravaack strongly supports the Keystone Pipeline, mining projects like Polymet, the recently passed St. Croix River Bridge, dredging and maintaining the port of Duluth, and most importantly the recently signed into law federal infrastructure bill. Thousands of construction jobs in Minnesota are or were at stake with these projects and Congressman Cravaack fought hard for those jobs.”
