MN-02 Democrat Receives Support of AFL-CIO COPE,
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
April 18, 2008
BURNSVILLE, Minn. – Steve Sarvi, DFL candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s 2nd District, has today announced two more key endorsements: the Minnesota AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education (COPE) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Minnesota State Legislative Board. Sarvi already enjoys the endorsements of the Service Employees International Union Minnesota State Council, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49, Teamsters Joint Council 32, Teamsters Local 120, the UAW Minnesota State Community Action Program Council, two veterans’ organizations, and numerous elected officials and other individuals.
AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO in Minnesota includes steelworkers, nurses, teachers, postal workers, office professionals, road builders, laborers, computer operators, and more. Union members work in private industry and public service and belong to 1000 affiliated local unions, statewide and regional councils and retiree organizations.
Minnesota AFL-CIO President Ray Waldron said, “Our general board, representing 300,000-plus union members, voted unanimously to endorse Steve Sarvi. He’s a working man, and he stands with working people. His opponent, Rep. John Kline, is no friend of working people. Kline has voted with working people a lousy eight percent of the time. Eight percent. It's time to replace Rep. Kline – and Steve Sarvi is the candidate to do it.”
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET)
The BLET is a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. It has more than 50,000 members and is the oldest union in the United States. It is an affiliate of the Change to Win coalition.
David Brown, Minnesota State Legislative Board Chairman for the BLET, said of Steve Sarvi: “He represents the interests of rail labor and all working families in Minnesota. We are proud to endorse him for Representative of the 2nd Congressional District of Minnesota.”
About Steve Sarvi
Steve Sarvi is a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army and National Guard who served in both Kosovo and Iraq. He’s a former three-term mayor of Watertown, Minn., who has worked in local government for more than 13 years, currently serving as the administrator for the City of Victoria, Minn. For more about Sarvi and his vision for changing our country’s course, visit www.stevesarvi.org.
About the 2nd Congressional District
Trends in Minnesota’s 2nd District are favorable to Democratic candidates like Steve Sarvi. In 2006, Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) U.S. Senate candidate and now-U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar outperformed former Senator Mark Dayton’s 2000 election results by 10 points, winning every precinct in four of the district’s five largest cities and winning the district overall with 53.3 percent of the vote. The DFL Party has picked up 11 formerly Republican state legislative seats in the district since 2004, giving it a majority of the district’s seats.