As union workers from across Connecticut gather at the Omni Hotel to figure out who the state’s AFL-CIO should endorse for governor, Yale’s politically influential UNITE HERE Local 34 has thrown its support behind two-term incumbent Democrat Ned Lamont. Lamont announced that endorsement in a n email press release sent out at 12:53 p.m. Friday. Local 34 represents more than 4,000 clerical and technical workers at the university. Lamont has already secured the endorsement of UNITE HERE’s Local 217, which represents hotel workers at the Omni and the Graduate, as well as cafeteria workers at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). Yale’s other two UNITE HERE unions — Local 33 and Local 35 — have not yet endorsed a candidate for governor. Friday’s announcement comes on the second and final day of a closed-door convention that the Connecticut AFL-CIO is hosting at the Omni Hotel. Lamont and progressive Hamden State Rep. Josh Elliott, who is challenging the incumbent governor in the Aug. 11 Democratic primary, both made their pitches to union workers Thursday in their bids for the AFL-CIO’s endorsement. “Governor Lamont understands that unions are fundamental to building the middle class in Connecticut,” Local 34 President Lisa Stevens is quoted as saying in Friday’s press release. “Local 34 has built the bellwether standard for clerical and technical work in the region, but the affordability crisis has left our members struggling to keep up. As Yale University seeks to undo the progress we have made, we are proud that Governor Lamont is standing with us as we work to ensure that Yale jobs continue to be a bedrock of the middle class.” “UNITE HERE Local 34 members are the backbone of one of our state’s most vital educational and medical institutions,” Lamont is quoted as saying in that same press release. “For years,  I’ve stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their members as they demand better working conditions, in protests, rallies, and picket lines. I share their belief that both New Haven and Connecticut need good-paying union jobs and an economy that works for everyone, built around organized labor and good paying union jobs with good benefits. I am incredibly proud to have Local 34’s support as we continue our shared fight to ensure Connecticut’s working families can thrive.” The press release touts a list of accomplishments that Lamont has pointed to in his own recent pitch to New Haven Democrats as bolstering his progressive credentials. Those include passing a paid family and medical leave bill and increasing the minimum wage. Friday’s press release also states that Lamont has been endorsed by the Teamsters Union, the Connecticut District Laborers’ Council, the Uniformed Professional Firefighters Association, the Amalgamated Transit Union of Connecticut, and the Connecticut Carpenters Union, among others. The post Local 34 Endorses Lamont appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less