Janelle Irwin Taylor
The International United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) and its local chapter are endorsing Alan Cohn for Congress, his campaign announced Monday.
The latest endorsement joins other union backing, including from the Teamsters union and Plumbers and Pipefitters Union.
The UFCW, through its endorsement, plans to both financially back Cohn and use its resources to assist with get out the vote efforts.
Cohn is running for Florida’s 15th Congressional District against fellow Democrat Adam Hattersley. The two are seeking to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Ross Spano.
“UFCW and members of Local 1625 across Central Florida are supporting Alan Cohn because we know he has the back of working men, women, and their families. It’s never has been more important to send a representative to Congress who not only understands the issues but is willing to advocate and fight for a level playing field in the workplace and the economy,” said UFCW Local President Ed Chambers. “Alan has always been an advocate for us and now we’re going put our energy, resources, and effort into making sure he gets elected to Congress in Florida’s 15th Congressional District.”
The UFCW represents more than 1.3 million workers in the grocery, retail, packing and processing, chemical, cannabis, and distillery industries. UCFW 1625 represents 7,045 members in Central Florida.
“As a member of four unions, I am proud to have earned the support of UFCW in our campaign for Congress. Unions are invaluable, and working men and women are the lifeblood of this campaign. I am the strongest advocate for unions and workers running for Congress in this district.” Cohn said.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is watching the race closely. While the group has not endorsed a Democrat in the primary, they are making Spano’s ouster from Congress a top priority.
Spano is under federal investigation over illegal campaign loans he accepted during his 2018 election when he was first voted into office. He accepted personal loans from friends and then used that money to loan his campaign, which constitutes a violation of campaign contribution limits.
Spano has since repaid almost all of the loans and apologized for what he said was a decision made on bad advice, but the DCCC is using the flub to blast Spano at every opportunity.
Whoever wins the primary will likely benefit not only from their individual endorsements but through the DCCC’s massive spending highlighting Spano’s mistake.
