PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Just two of the 14 candidates for Philadelphia mayor have collected major union endorsements so far, but that’s about to change.
Multiple sources confirm that the Philadelphia Building Trades Council plans to endorse former City Councilmember Cherelle Parker at a news conference on Wednesday. The move could become a game-changer for her.
Parker’s campaign declined to comment and the sources wouldn’t speak on the record, but one speculated that the endorsement “takes Parker from the middle of the pack to a top-tier candidate.”
To date, large unions have mostly backed either ShopRite supermarket mogul Jeff Brown or former Councilmember Helen Gym.
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Gym has been endorsed by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, which represents teachers and many others in the School District of Philadelphia, AFSCME District Council 47 which is the white-collar city workers’ union, and Unite Here Local 274, the hospitality workers’ union.
Brown, who employs thousands of union workers, has the blessing of four retail workers’ union locals, Transport Workers Union Local 234, Teamsters Joint Council 53 and AFSCME District Council 33, the blue-collar city workers’ union.
Brown and Gym are also among the top fundraisers in the race, as each raised about $850,000 according to 2022 campaign finance reports. Former Councilmember Allan Domb loaned his campaign more than $5 million.
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Parker had raised $547,000 as of the end of 2022, putting her fifth for fundraising among the candidates.
The building trades endorsement is significant, not just for the campaign contributions that are likely to follow but also because, with more than 50 member unions, the council is a major source of “boots on the ground” for get-out-the-vote efforts.
The Building Trades Council hasn’t always picked winners. It backed former Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb in last spring’s U.S. Senate Democratic primary, which John Fetterman won before taking the general election over Mehmet Oz in November.
The 2023 primary for Philadelphia mayor is scheduled for May 16.