IFPTE Weighs-In on Maine Senate Race - Endorses Graham Platner for United States Senate
“Mainers, including those represented by IFPTE, have had enough of the tired politics and empty excuses of career politicians, and that’s why they’re rallying around a candidate who is not only unapologetically pro-Union, but one who will also work to overturn the Trump Administration’s Union-busting and attacks on federal workers.”
(l-r) Gay Henson (Secretary-Treasurer); Brian Kildee (Asst. to the Executive Officers); Senate candidate Graham Platner, Matt Biggs (President); and Faraz Khan (Legislative Director)
On behalf of its 90,000 members throughout North America, as well as the thousands of workers it represents at Maine’s Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers is proud to endorse Graham Platner for United States Senate.
The Union’s Executive Officers released the following statements of support:
IFPTE President Matt Biggs: “When Graham Platner launched his campaign for U.S. Senate, he urged people who think the system is broken to take a closer look. The system, as he points out, is working exactly as those in power want it to: keeping down workers, shutting down hospitals, taking food from the hungry, and forcing Maine’s families to live on the financial brink. And all of this is being done to help the few, the wealthy, and the privileged stay on top. Sadly, this agenda also includes Union-busting, where more than one million American workers have lost their collective bargaining rights at the hands of the current president. Mainers, including those represented by IFPTE, have had enough of the tired politics of career politicians, and that’s why they’re rallying around a candidate who is not only unapologetically pro-Union, but one who will also overturn the Trump Administration’s Union-busting and attacks on federal workers. Moreover, Graham Platner is someone whose life experience includes running a business, serving in the military, and being an active member of the community. IFPTE is proud to join those supporting Graham Platner, a leader who knows what he believes and isn’t afraid to say it.”
IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson: “Graham Platner may not be the choice of the Establishment, but then again, the Establishment hasn’t done much for the people of Maine in a long, long time. They’re ready for a Senator who focuses less on the hardship of figuring out how to vote or what to say, and more on the hardship of families who are working longer for the same pay, spending more for basic groceries, and traveling farther and farther for life-saving medical care. Sometimes when you want a different kind of leadership, you have to elect a different kind of leader. Graham Platner is the choice for Maine’s working families. He understands the dire need for workers to have a voice on the job through collective bargaining, which is exactly why he supports the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, the Public Sector Freedom to Negotiate Act, and the Protect America’s Workforce Act. That’s why IFPTE is endorsing Graham Platner, and that’s why the people of Maine are going to make him their next U.S. Senator.”
IFPTE is a labor union representing upwards of 90,000 across North America, including some 1,800 federal workers represented by IFPTE Local 4 and employed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kitter, Maine/Portsmouth, New Hampshire.