Hillary Clinton Statement on Endorsement of International Union of Operating Engineers

Hillary Clinton released the following statement after the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) endorsed her campaign for President:

"I am honored to have earned the endorsement of the International Union of Operating Engineers, which represents 400,000 hard-working men and women across the United States and Canada."

"Unions like the Operating Engineers helped build the greatest middle class in the world in the last century, and they will be central to building the good-paying jobs and careers of the 21st century. I have always and will always stand with organized labor in protecting workers' rights and worker safety. In the Senate, I fought to pass the James L. Zadroga Act, signed into law by President Obama, which ensured the first and second responders who ran toward danger on that fateful day and worked on 'the pile' for months afterward, including many Operating Engineers, received the health care they needed and deserved. Congress must act to reauthorize the Zadroga bill and extend these critical benefits.

"It's time to put more Americans to work modernizing our infrastructure, from rebuilding roads and bridges to repairing leaky pipelines to upgrading our water systems. As President, I will fight to increase investment in our infrastructure and to protect the prevailing wage standards and project labor agreements that ensure construction careers open the door to a middle-class life. I'm proud to have the Operating Engineers as partners in this important work. Because when unions are strong, families are strong—and when families are strong, America is strong."

The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) endorsement follows, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the National Education Association (NEA), The Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association (OPCMIA), United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers, the American Federation of Teachers, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry in backing Clinton.