ATLANTA — Stacey Abrams received a key endorsement on Wednesday from one of the most powerful unions in the state at an event that highlighted the Democrat’s support for organized labor.
Charlie Flemming, head of the Georgia chapter of the AFL-CIO, said Abrams ‘understands firsthand how the union difference can transform lives and drive progress for generations to come” as he unveiled the group’s backing at the Democrat’s first in-person event in her campaign for governor.
“There is no better champion for Georgia’s working families than Stacey Abrams,” he said, “which is why we are extraordinarily proud to endorse her run for governor.”
The Democrat has long had a close relationship with union forces, and endorsements from the AFL-CIO and other labor groups gave her an instant financial and organizational boost during her 2018 campaign.
Since her narrow defeat to Gov. Brian Kemp, she’s worked to bolster those ties.
She canceled a May 2019 speaking gig to support a local union in a labor dispute, launched an expansion of her Fair Fight political organization at a union convention in Las Vegas and joined the board of the WNBA players union.
Abrams also joined one of the most watched labor-organizing initiatives in the nation last year by encouraging Amazon workers in Alabama to vote to unionize. And after Democrats swept the U.S. Senate runoffs, she credited organized labor as the force “at the core of Georgia’s evolution.”
Kemp’s campaign spokesman said in a statement that Abrams’ alliance with unions is a sign she backs “higher taxes, more government red tape, and cradle-to-grave government control of Georgians’ lives.”
Abrams, meanwhile, called Kemp a failed governor “who likes to take credit but no responsibility.”
