Plumbers union endorses Biden reelection bid

The top plumbers union endorsed President Biden’s reelection bid on Wednesday, adding to the list of big labor organizations that have supported the president again this cycle.

The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry (UA), which represents about 366,000 plumbers, pipefitters and welders, announced its endorsement earlier than it announced in the 2020 cycle.

“The Biden Harris Administration has provided economic opportunity for all United Association members — meaning our members have a fair shot at working family-sustaining jobs while building the future of American infrastructure,” UA general president Mark McManus said in a statement.

The group pointed to Biden’s policies, such as replacing lead service lines, building semiconductor manufacturing facilities and permitting reform, as reasons they wanted to endorse.

UA released a nationwide ad campaign announcing the endorsement, which was backed by a nearly $1 million buy and will run nationwide for four weeks, then only in battleground states for another four weeks.

“This endorsement highlights the groundswell of support we have seen from across the organized labor movement,” Julie Chávez Rodriguez, Biden-Harris 2024 campaign manager, said in a statement. “That’s because Joe Biden is the most pro-labor president in history — making historic investments in our country’s manufacturing and fighting for our workers.”

Biden’s reelection campaign was endorsed by AFL-CIO in June, along with more than a dozen other unions — like the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the American Federation of Teachers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, National Nurses United and the American Federation of Government Employees.

The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) also endorsed Biden earlier in June, citing the infrastructure law as an accomplishment of the administration.

“The unprecedented show of support from labor this early in the campaign unlocks the movement’s powerful organizing abilities and resources to help show how President Biden is delivering more jobs, more manufacturing, and lower costs for American families,” Rodriguez said.

But the president hasn’t had all good luck with unions this cycle. The United Auto Workers union in May said it would hold back from an endorsement, citing concerns over the White House’s focus on electric vehicles.