Insurgent socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders picked up another union endorsement as he attempts to upset Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton in the New York primary.
Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 endorsed the Vermont senator on Wednesday. Union president John Samuelsen called Sanders "a kindred spirit," as he addressed 300 members at its Brooklyn headquarters.
"Business as usual politics is not going to give us the jolt we need," he said. "Bernie Sanders has been fighting against the ‘powers that be’ in this country on behalf of all American workers his entire life. That’s what this country needs. That’s what American workers need. A true champion of our cause."
Sanders thanked the union for the endorsement and pledged that he would fight against free trade deals and pursue policies in line with labor movement. He said that he would defend the unions from "fierce attacks" because they serve as "the last lines of defense against a corporate agenda."
"Together we are going to end these disastrous trade agreements that have cost us millions of good paying jobs … that have led to a race to the bottom," Sanders said to cheers from the crowd. "You don’t have a great and growing middle class unless you have a great and growing trade union movement."
He touted his support for card check legislation, which allows workers to organize employees through a petition-signing process rather than a secret ballot election.
"We need legislation that makes it easier for workers to join unions, not harder," Sanders said.
Sanders has made unions a centerpiece of his campaign to win New York, which Clinton represented in the Senate from 2000 to 2008. He marched with striking Verizon union members later in the day and has criticized Clinton’s record of supporting trade deals and outsourcing.
The union will provide Sanders with plenty of support on the ground.
It represents more than 40,000 public transit workers in the New York City region and has been politically active in recent years, spending more than $1.1 million on political activities and lobbying in 2015, according to its most recent federal filings. It spent $1.6 million on the 2014 midterm elections with nearly all of that money going to Democrats and has already contributed more than $200,000 to Democratic candidates in 2016, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The Brooklyn-born Vermont senator has been surging of late winning eight of the last nine primaries and caucuses. His polling numbers have improved dramatically in Clinton’s adopted hometown. Clinton leads Sanders by about 13 points, according to a Real Clear Politics polling average, down from a 32 point lead in March.