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Tom Scheck
St. Paul, Minn.

Bakk gets major union endorsement in run for governor

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DFLer Tom Bakk received a major union endorsement today in his run for governor.

The Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council said it is backing Bakk, a state senator from Cook, because his gubernatorial campaign is focused on creating jobs.

Union president Harry Melander said in the news release that Bakk is a union carpenter who understands that unemployment is hurting the construction industry more than other sectors. The union has 50,000 members.

Earlier, Bakk won the backing of the 20,000-member carpenters union.

The latest endorsement is yet another signal that organized labor is split on the race for governor.

Three unions are backing Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, state Rep. Paul Thissen and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak have one endorsement each. And Rep. Tom Rukavina is being backed by four local steelworkers unions.

Two of the more politically powerful unions, the Service Employees International Union and Education Minnesota, have yet to endorse a candidate for governor.