Communications workers’ union endorses Charlie Crist for Governor

Democratic gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist has won the endorsement of the Communications Workers of America.

The endorsement was announced Thursday through the CWA Florida President’s Council and carries the weight of not just the CWA locals and 15,000 members across Florida, but the national union. It is the third union endorsement his campaign has won in his Democratic Primary battle.

The union plans a big grassroots push on behalf of Crist, including multiple phone calls to every one of the CWA’s members and retirees, said Curtis Hierro, CWA senior legislative/political lead for Florida.

“This is a big investment. We’re going to put boots on the ground and do everything we can to get ourselves a new Governor elected in November,” Hierro said.

Crist has to get through the August Democratic Primary Election first. He’s competing with Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and state Sen. Annette Taddeo. The winner takes on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in November.

“Charlie Crist has a proven track record of putting Florida’s working class first,” said Steve Wisniewski, President of CWA Local 3108 in Orlando, in a news release issued Thursday. “As a Congressman Charlie answered the call for CWA and all working people, cosponsoring critical legislation like the PRO Act and voting for the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; which provides billions for broadband expansion and supports good union jobs.”

In the release, the CWA charged that DeSantis has pursued an “agenda hostile to Florida’s working families during his term as Governor, including support for anti-collective bargaining bills which would negatively impact hundreds of thousands of Florida’s workers.”

Crist met just last week with CWA and other union leaders, making his pitch and urging them to endorse him immediately. Hierro said the CWA endorsement was already in the works at that time.

Crist pledged he would work to regulate utilities to ensure costs go down for Floridians, expand Medicaid, ensure citizens’ right to vote is protected, lower property insurance and rents, and put the interests of Florida’s working families first.