Amalgamated Transit Union Endorses Bernie Sanders for President
AKRON, Ohio – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday welcomed the endorsement of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which is the largest labor union representing transit and allied workers in the United States and Canada.
“I’m proud to have the support of the Amalgamated Transit Union,” Sanders said. “Our political revolution can only happen if thousands of working people stand together and tell the millionaires and billionaires they can’t have it all.”
“The sincerity of Bernie Sanders and his long-standing fidelity to the issues that are so important to working people are what convinced us that standing with Bernie is standing with the 99 percent of America that has been left out of the mainstream public debate, cheated out of our jobs and denied the true meaning of the American dream,” ATU President Lawrence J. Hanley said. “His unabashed support of civil rights, public services, free tuition at public colleges, increases in Social Security and the minimum wage make him an ideal candidate. But the labor movement owes Sen. Sanders so much for his consistent opposition to right-wing programs and his championing of first rate health care for all.”
Founded in 1892, the ATU today is comprised of over 190,000 members, including: metropolitan, interstate, and school bus drivers; para-transit, light rail, subway, streetcar, and ferry boat operators; mechanics and other maintenance workers; clerks, baggage handlers, municipal employees, and others. ATU can be found in 44 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and nine Canadian provinces.
ATU is the fourth national union to endorse Sanders' bid for the White House.
Sanders’ day began in Columbus, Ohio. After the stop in Youngstown, he headed to Akron, Ohio, best known for its tire industry. Later on Monday, Sanders scheduled stops in Charlotte, North Carolina, once home to a vibrant textile industry. The packed schedule also included an afternoon stop in St. Charles, Missouri. He was to cap the long day with a late-night rally in Chicago, once a steel and manufacturing hub.
