Bernie Sanders picks up union endorsement in visit to Pittsburgh

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders picked up the endorsement of a Pittsburgh-based union Monday after a Downtown stop.

The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America endorsed Sanders, a Vermont senator who is among those leading a crowded field seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020.

“Bernie understands the need for workers to have a democratic, independent union movement that is unafraid to challenge corporate America’s stranglehold on our economy,” said UE General President Peter Knowlton in a news release.

The UE, based in Pittsburgh, is holding its annual convention. It represents 35,000 workers in a wide variety of manufacturing, public sector and private service-sector jobs.

Sanders earned the endorsement in part for his stance on health care. The union said it shares his stance that there should be a single-payer system in the country.

Sanders said in a news release that he was humbled to receive the endorsement.

“We are running a true working-class campaign, which speaks directly to workers and confronts the massive inequality we see in our society today,” he said.

It was Sanders’ second campaign visit to Pittsburgh this year.

A Monmouth University poll released this week said 20% of Democratic voters supported Sanders and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, while 19% backed former Vice President Joe Biden, making the race a statistical dead heat. The poll had a margin of error of 5.7 percentage points.

Biden kicked off his presidential campaign in Pittsburgh in April.