Wagner looks to showcase union support

PITTSBURGH—Auditor General Jack Wagner rolled out a slew of union endorsements on Tuesday, seeking to demonstrate his support within the organized labor community even as the state’s largest umbrella labor group did not make an endorsement in the Democratic primary for governor.

About 35 members from six local unions stood behind Wagner in the lobby of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center here, where the AFL-CIO was holding its state convention. Neither Wagner nor Democratic rival Dan Onorato were able to garner the two-thirds vote needed for an endorsement from the AFL-CIO, but the Wagner campaign was clearly looking to downplay that by holding Tuesday morning’s news conference.

“I think it’s powerful,” Wagner said of the union endorsements. “I appreciated every one of them from the bottom of my heart. I always make sure my employees are treated the way I want to be treated. They are really about the middle class and providing quality jobs for Pennsylvania.”

The state AFL-CIO left member unions open to make their own endorsements, and the choice was easy for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 29, union member Jim Britsch said. Wagner once belonged to the union while working at Duquesne Light and remains an honorary member.

“Jack knows what it’s like to get up and go to work every day,” Britsch said. “Jack knows the issues of workers.”

Also in attendance was Ed Yankovich, the District 3 president of the United Mine Workers of America. Wagner highlighted the need to prevent mining disasters such as the one that occurred last week in West Virginia, noting that the Upper Big Branch Mine operated by Massey Energy did not have union workers.

Wendell Young IV, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, which includes employees working at the state operated Wine & Spirit Stores, praised Wagner for his work as state auditor general.

“Jack has made sure that working people get the best bang for their buck as taxpayers,” Young said.

As union members filtered out of the lobby, Young’s father, Wendell Young III, grabbed Wagner’s hand and offered his own praise.

“We’re with you, Jack,” he said.

Wagner also addressed the federal government’s recent rejection of a state plan to install tolls on Interstate 80.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s taken us three-plus years to get to this point,” Wagner said.

With the tolling of I-80 out of the question, he said, any options should be on the table to find revenue for the roads and bridges because of the need to “aggressively invest in infrastructure.”

He said he wants the state to stop wasting money on frivolous projects, pointing down the river to a newly constructed subway tunnel beneath the Allegheny River. Wagner said the $530 million used to build the North Shore Connector could have been channeled to other local projects that would have netted greater results.

The other unions endorsing Wagner Tuesday were the the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 201; the American Federation of Government Employees 3rd District; and District 1199c of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees.