Trailing in Iowa, Biden Snags Nod From Electrial Workers’ Union

(Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden won the backing of a major labor union Wednesday, a welcome boost after partial results from the Iowa caucuses indicated he had a disappointing finish.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which has 775,000 active and retired members across North America, described Biden as “a longtime friend of working families.”

The endorsement comes at a key moment for Biden’s campaign. With about two-thirds of Iowa precincts reporting, the former vice president was sitting in fourth place, behind 38-year-old Pete Buttigieg, self-described democratic socialist Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, another progressive senator.

“What makes Joe Biden different isn’t just his support for our rights on the job, but his support for good energy jobs,” IBEW President Lonnie R. Stephenson said in a statement. “Eighty-five percent of IBEW members work in the energy industry, and our country needs a realistic plan to combat the ongoing threat of climate change without putting energy security or working families at risk.”

This post is part of Campaign Update, our live coverage from the 2020 campaign trail.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kathleen Hunter in London at khunter9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Gordon at cgordon39@bloomberg.net, Kathleen Hunter

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