The Washington state chapter of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW 3000), the largest labor union in the state, announced on Thursday that the executive board for the union has unanimously decided to endorse “Uncommitted” over President Joe Biden in the state’s upcoming Democrat primary election.
Citing the union’s worries over President Biden’s political ability to defeat Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump and his support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, the 50,000-strong organization endorsed “Uncommitted” for the primary, suggesting a lot could happen in the Democrat Party between now and November.
The biggest labor union in Washington State endorsed voting “uncommitted” in the state’s Democratic presidential primary next month, citing concerns about President Biden’s political strength. https://t.co/2JK6JZMmZt
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 29, 2024
“While Biden has been an ally to workers over the last four years, low-wage workers cannot afford setbacks when it comes to the right to organize and the protections we’ve won during Biden’s time in office,” UFCW 3000 said in a press release.
“To protect workers, we must give ourselves the best chance to defeat anti-worker forces in the General Election. The entire purpose of a primary election, unlike the general election, is for voters to cast their ballot to reflect their current wish for the party’s nomination,” the union added.
Ultimately, the decision came down to ensuring Democrats have “the best nominee” to defeat Trump in 2024, and the Washington labor union is unconvinced that Biden is it.
Currently, many voters, & the UFCW 3000 executive board, feel that the best path to have the best nominee, & to defeat Trump, is to vote “uncommitted” on the upcoming March 12 Washington primary.https://t.co/pgJNfnhceg
— UFCW 3000 (@UFCW_3000) February 29, 2024
“Currently, many voters, and UFCW 3000 executive board, feel that the best path to have the best nominee, and to defeat Trump, is to vote ‘uncommitted’ on the upcoming March 12 Washington primary,” the union said. “The hope is that this will strengthen the Democratic party’s ultimate nominee to defeat Trump in the General Election in November.”
UFCW also referenced the recent campaign to vote for “Uncommitted” in the Michigan Democrat primary: “We stand in solidarity with our partners in Michigan who sent a clear message in their primary that Biden must do more to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Biden must push for a lasting ceasefire and ending US funding toward this reckless war.”
Hoping to get 10,000 votes, the push for voters to select “Uncommitted” over Biden in Michigan ended up getting more than 100,000 votes, putting the president on notice that his party is losing confidence in his leadership.
