Northwestern Illinois Building Trades endorse JB Pritzker for governor

By CARL GREEN

Illinois Correspondent

Chicago, IL – The Northwestern Illinois Building Trades (NWIBT) have endorsed JB Pritzker for Governor. NWIBT represents over 15,000 workers in the building trades throughout northwestern Illinois. Prtizker and running mate Juliana Stratton were endorsed with a unanimous vote of the member locals.

“The Northwestern Illinois Building Trades are proud to stand with JB Pritzker and Juliana Stratton,” said President Alan Golden. “JB and Juliana stand for working people in Illinois, and they are fighting for every community in our state. Their tireless commitment to growing jobs, protecting the prevailing wage, and fighting for collective bargaining rights best reflect the priorities and values of our membership. We hope Illinois can come together in solidarity with their campaign and make sure JB and Juliana beat Bruce Rauner and win in 2018.”

Pritzker, an entrepreneur and heir to the Hyatt hotels fortune, has frequently praised Organized Labor and criticized Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner for promoting local “right-to-work” zones in cities and counties and feuding with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees that represents state workers.

“If Bruce Rauner wins another four years, there may not be any labor unions in this state,” Pritzker warned in an August speech during a visit to Laborers Local 362 union hall in Blommington.

“His Koch brothers network will have eviscerated unions all across the Midwest,” he said. “We are an island (surrounded by right-to-work states)…. It’s a target. That’s what they see. We have to protect it.

I am so proud to receive the endorsement of the Northwestern Illinois Building Trades and the hardworking Illinois families they represent,” Pritzker said. “Together, we will grow the economy, guarantee the right to collectively bargain, and fight for project labor agreements in Illinois.

“Now more than ever, we must stand up for our shared values and the working families under assault by Bruce Rauner’s special interest agenda. I’m humbled to have the endorsement of NWIBT, and the working families it represents will always have a seat at the table when I’m governor.”