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A former union leader told CNN on Tuesday that Sanders has personally called union bosses to ask for their endorsement, but that his proposals have met with mixed reactions.
Sanders’ push comes amid an intensification of maneuvering over the Cabinet’s powerful position from within the labor movement.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who is among those Sanders has contacted, favors Boston Mayor Marty Walsh for the job, said senior union leader, while Michigan Rep. Andy Levin, a Democrat who is a popular progressive, has also built a base. support among union leaders, including the Communications Workers of America.
Labor divisions, many of them rooted in climate politics, were tempered during the general election campaign as leaders considered their options and maintained a united front in their broad opposition to President Donald Trump.
A spokesman for Sanders did not respond to request for comment on the senator’s reach. Biden’s transition team was not immediately available for comment and an AFL-CIO official did not immediately respond to reports that Trumka was gathering support for Walsh.
In public remarks and in an interview with CNN before the election, Sanders spoke about his desire to lead a push from within the Senate to send an ambitious set of progressive legislation to Biden’s desk. But those plans may have been complicated by the uncertainty surrounding the agency’s control, after a disappointing election night for Democratic Senate hopefuls.
The caucus will likely now have to win both of the January playoff contests in Georgia to get a majority.
If Biden selected Sanders for the job, Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott would name an interim successor and then, by law, schedule a special election to fill the job. Scott has said he would select “a more left-wing type of independent who would obviously join the Democrats” should Sanders accept a job in the administration.
The Biden-Harris transition team revealed to members of their agency’s review teams on Tuesday, a first step on the road to completing the incoming administration. Among the members of the Department of Labor team is Sanders aide Josh Orton, who had previously worked on the senator’s primary campaign.
Walsh also began his political career in the workplace, eventually leading the Boston Building Trades, a group representing the ironworkers and electrician unions, among others.
