Release: AFSCME Council 81 & Teamsters Local 326 Endorse Sarah McBride for Congress
“Sarah won’t just stand with us, she’ll fight alongside us every day for Delaware working families.”
Wilmington, DE— Congressional candidate for Delaware’s at-large district and State Senator Sarah McBride has been endorsed by the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 81 and Teamsters Local 326. They join the growing list of major labor unions endorsing McBride, who has also earned the support of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 842, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and UFCW Local 27, the largest private sector union in the state.
“AFSCME Council 81 is thrilled to formally endorse Sarah McBride in her race for Congress. She’s been a fierce champion on behalf of working families, especially our front-line public service workers,” said AFSCME Council 81 Executive Director Michael A. Begatto. “Sarah will protect our right to collectively organize and bargain for better working conditions on the job. She won’t just stand with us, she’ll fight alongside us every day for Delaware working families. AFSCME Council 81 represents nearly 7,000 public employees in Delaware — every day, we make Delaware happen. With Sarah, we’re going to make America happen.”
“Throughout her entire life and public service career, Sarah McBride has been committed to working people and the unions that protect them,” said Teamsters Local 326 Vice-President Len McCartney. “Sarah knows that a strong American middle class requires strong unions. Teamsters Local 326 has a friend in Sarah McBride and we’re going to do everything in our power to elect her to Congress this fall. We’re in this fight with Sarah.”
“As a life-long advocate for workers and unions, I’m honored to receive these endorsements and remain committed to fighting alongside them to empower working people to collectively organize,” said McBride. “Together, we've fought for fair wages, safe working conditions, and equitable outcomes for all workers, especially our frontline heroes. With AFSCME and the Teamster’s support, we will continue our mission to champion the rights and well-being of working families across Delaware. I'm honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with AFSCME Council 81, Teamsters Local 326 and unions across Delaware as we strive to build a brighter, more prosperous future for every individual striving for dignity and opportunity in our great state."
McBride has been endorsed by several Delaware elected officials including Attorney General Kathy Jennings, State Auditor Lydia York, former Lt. Governor and Attorney General Matt Denn and more than twenty Delaware elected officials, community organizers, labor leaders and community and national advocacy organizations. She has also garnered near unanimous support across the entire Democratic caucus, with endorsements from caucuses representing nearly every Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Other organizations that announced their support of Senator McBride include:
UFCW Local 27
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)
Association of Flight Attendants
Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Reproductive Freedom for All
EMILYs List
Elect Democratic Women (EDW)
Congressional Progressive Caucus
New Democrat Coalition Action Fund
Congressional Equality PAC
Shore Democrats
Delaware Stonewall PAC
End Citizens United / Let America Vote
Human Rights Campaign
LPAC
Victory Fund
Next50
ABOUT SARAH MCBRIDE
Sarah McBride represents roughly 50,000 Delawareans in the First State Senate District, which includes parts of Wilmington and Brandywine Hundred. Sarah grew up in Wilmington and has been advocating for her community for decades. She worked for former Governor Jack Markell, the late Attorney General Beau Biden, and served in the Obama White House. Most recently, she served as the national spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ equal rights organization.
When McBride was elected in November 2020, she became the first openly transgender state senator in American history. In just her first term, McBride passed the landmark Healthy Delaware Families Act, providing paid family and medical leave to workers throughout the First State and marking the largest expansion of Delaware's social safety net in decades. She also passed legislation expanding access to health care, requiring mental health and media literacy education in public schools, promoting green technologies, preventing lead poisoning in youth, and protecting workers and families.
McBride currently serves as chair of the Senate Health & Social Services Committee and is a member of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, Education Committee, Banking, Business, Insurance, and Technology Committee, and Executive Committee.
Sarah married her late husband Andrew Cray in 2014 and is the proud aunt of seven. She is a graduate of Cab Calloway School of the Arts and American University. McBride has taught public policy at the University of Delaware and is the author of the 2018 memoir, “Tomorrow Will Be Different,” which includes a foreword from President Joe Biden.
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