Silver Spring, MD – The Amalgamated Transit Union General Executive Board has announced ATU’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president of the United States. Along with her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, ATU believes she will be a progressive, forward-looking leader who will keep America united while charting a steady course toward a safer, more peaceful world.
“Secretary Clinton’s rallying cry – Stronger Together – is an expression of the fundamental principle that has guided the labor movement’s historic work delivering momentous improvements in Americans’ lives. Similarly, there is so much President Hillary Clinton and all of us will be able to accomplish together,” says ATU International President Larry Hanley.
“Our nation faces a triple threat of crises: an economic system that denies workers a living wage, poorly financed public transit infrastructure that makes it all but impossible for the poor to find a way to work, and a rising tide of demagoguery that divides us by race and class. These injustices are the result of the outsized influence the wealthy exert in Congress and state legislatures, which has led to the decline of the middle class and the impoverishment of our people,” Hanley continued.
“Fortunately, we have a champion in Hillary Clinton who will fight to rebuild the middle class by restoring the rights of Labor, and bolster our economy through unprecedented investment in public services like transit,” said Hanley.
As ATU did in 2012, the union plans an aggressive campaign to mobilize members and riders across the country in support of Clinton and candidates who support public transportation and working families. In 2012, ATU waged an unprecedented GOTV campaign leafleting millions of transit riders, rallying thousands of its members, and joining with candidates to transport voters to the polls.
“We have been heartened by Secretary Clinton’s embrace of the principles expressed by Senator Bernie Sanders, who we endorsed in the primary. Senator Sanders so well expressed the frustrated aspirations of millions of Americans who are demanding a revival of the New Deal-style politics that once lifted us from the depths of poverty. Hillary Clinton has heard our cries and will work every day to make America a more just society that works for everyone,” says Hanley.
“In Frat Boy Donald Trump, we have a candidate who has no core values, who seems to lack even a basic understanding of what is going on in the world, and who believes that lone billionaires like him– not movements like ours – has all the answers. And, as Secretary Clinton has warned, ‘A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons’,” Hanley continues.
“Hillary Clinton is a candidate we can trust to use her unparalleled global experience to provide the strong, responsible leadership the world needs,” says Hanley. “And so we enthusiastically endorse Hillary Clinton. And join the millions of Americans who say, “I’m With Her,” because she’s with us.”
ATU is the largest labor organization representing transportation workers in United States and Canada. With more than 197,000 members in 253 local unions spread across 47 states and nine provinces, including 3,000 workers at Greyhound Lines, Inc., ATU members work as bus drivers, light rail operators, maintenance and clerical personnel and other transit and municipal employees.