HARTFORD, Sept. 19 — Ned Lamont, the Democratic candidate for United States Senate, has secured the endorsement of one of the state’s largest labor unions, which had backed Senator Joseph I. Lieberman in the primary. þþThe switch by the union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is the biggest labor boost Mr. Lamont has received since winning the Democratic primary last month. þþThe support of the union, which represents about 35,000 members, shows that Mr. Lamont has chipped away at enough of Mr. Lieberman’s union support to make it most likely that the state A.F.L.-C.I.O., the umbrella group of state labor organizations, will stay neutral in the Senate general election.þþBoth Mr. Lieberman and Mr. Lamont had lobbied the municipal union for its endorsement, speaking to the union delegates personally on Friday. News of the endorsement was reported Monday in The Hartford Courant. þþSal Luciano, the president of the state union, said that the members became skeptical of Mr. Lieberman after the primary when several prominent White House officials suggested that they supported his independent bid in the general election. þþ“When he was running in the Democratic primary, we felt he had a good labor record and we owed him our endorsement,” Mr. Luciano said Monday. “When Joe switched in the general election, we became increasingly concerned with him moving closer to Bush. We know Ned will stand up to the Bush agenda.” þþThe union has also backed the three Democratic challengers in the state’s competitive House races, and Mr. Luciano called Mr. Lieberman’s support of those candidates “lackluster at best.” He added that the union would continue to focus on those elections. þþJohn Olsen, chairman of the state A.F.L.-C.I.O., said Monday that the municipal union’s switch made it “highly doubtful” that Mr. Lieberman or Mr. Lamont would receive an endorsement from the umbrella labor organization, which backed Mr. Lieberman in the primary. The A.F.L.-C.I.O. will make its final vote in early October, Mr. Olsen said.þþTwo unions that had stayed neutral in the primary, the United Auto Workers and the Service Employees International Union, have also endorsed Mr. Lamont in the general election. But several unions have said they will continue to support Mr. Lieberman. þþ
Source: NY Times
