(Bloomberg) -- A national postal workers union is endorsing Bernie Sanders, awarding the Democratic presidential candidate one of the 2020 race’s biggest labor endorsements to date.
“We’re pleased that a number of presidential candidates have taken positions and actions supportive of postal workers and expanding union rights,” American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein said in an emailed statement Thursday. “But when we judge candidates by their long-term and consistent actions Bernie Sanders stands out as a true champion of postal workers and all workers throughout the country.”
The union represents 200,000 government employees spread across all 50 states.
APWU also backed Sanders in his 2016 presidential campaign, when most major unions instead endorsed Hillary Clinton months before the start of voting. This time around, just days before the Iowa caucuses, national unions have almost all held off on choosing a candidate.
After 2016, Service Employees International Union President Mary Kay Henry said last April, “The biggest lesson that we’ve been drawing is the need to take our time and encourage as many different levels of activity and engagement across our union as we could.”
In contrast, the International Association of Fire Fighters, who represents 320,000 workers in North America, endorsed Joe Biden last April almost immediately after he entered the race, calling him “a problem solver who cares deeply about America and is driven to make it better.” The Iron Workers union endorsed the former vice president last week.
Sanders has been a vocal opponent of postal service privatization or service cuts. Along with APWU, he’s picked up endorsements from National Nurses United, which also backed him in 2016, and from a number of local unions around the country.
(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)
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