The Republican candidate for Allegheny County executive picked up a rare, but not unprecedented, endorsement from a large labor union on Thursday.
The Pennsylvania District Council of the Laborers International Union of North America endorsed Republican Joe Rockey, a retired chief risk officer at PNC. He is facing state Rep. Sara Innamorato, the Democratic nominee, in the November election.
The union, also known as LiUNA, represents 24,000 workers statewide. Most of them work in the building trades.
The Pittsburgh-based Laborers Local 1058 and Monroeville-based Laborers Local 373 joined LiUNA in endorsing Rockey. They represent a combined 7,000 workers, mostly in Allegheny County.
Philip Ameris, the business manager of the Western Pennsylvania Laborers’ District Council, said Rockey is a centrist who supports using local laborers.
“It is not a Democrat or Republican issue, it is a union issue,” Ameris said. “In this crucial election, we must elect a candidate who is qualified, has the knowledge on how to move Allegheny County forward and who understands that extreme political views will only cause division and stifle development and progress.”
Rockey, of Ohio Township, said he was proud to accept the endorsement. He said the trades unions have been the backbone of the middle class in Allegheny County, and noted that both his father and father-in-law were union members and they would be proud to see the laborers backing his campaign.
“It is all about jobs for Western Pennsylvania, and the kind of jobs that laborers provide,” he said. “My agenda is about jobs.”
LiUNA has been more friendly to Republicans than other labor unions over the years, and has bristled at supporting progressive politicians in the past — particularly ones who oppose natural gas drilling.
Innamorato, the Democratic nominee, was one of several progressive candidates to earn nominations in last month’s primary.
The Laborers’ District Council of Western Pennsylvania endorsed Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in 2014, in a race Corbett ultimately lost to Democrat Tom Wolf.
Ameris also penned an op-ed in 2020 announcing his opposition to Summer Lee in a state House race that Lee ultimately won. Innamorato is a longtime ally of Lee. Both are critical of natural gas fracking, arguing that it causes environmental harm.
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Ameris said that Innamorato’s support of a fracking ban in Allegheny County was a factor in LiUNA choosing to back Rockey. The union endorsed Democratic candidate John Weinstein in the primary. Weinstein has a long-established relationship with the trades unions in Allegheny County, but like Innamorato, has also said he supports a fracking ban.
Innamorato campaign spokesman Sam Wasserman called Innamorato the pro-union candidate in the race, citing her presence at picket lines for UPMC workers, painters, steelworkers, teamsters, carpenters and teachers, as well as her proposals to boost union rights and wage enforcement in the county.
“Innamorato will continue to work with all of our partners in labor to build a future that provides good-paying, sustainable union jobs and makes Allegheny County the most pro-union county in the country,” Wasserman said in a statement.
LiUNA also represents more than 1,000 Allegheny County government employees and the union supports the bill that passed council earlier this week to boost county employees’ minimum wage to $20 an hour.
Rockey said he supports good wages for everyone, but dodged questions about whether he supports the $20 minimum wage bill. He said council has already passed that bill and he expects it to become law before he would take office if he were to win.
He said he supports enforcing prevailing wage laws in Allegheny County and he supports fracking, which he said gives the region a competitive edge over other regions in the country.
“When we are doing something in Allegheny County, we do it with Western Pennsylvania union employees and following the prevailing wage requirements,” Rockey said.
Ameris said he couldn’t say how other unions in Allegheny County will support in the upcoming general election.
“I totally support our unions, we are all union brothers and sisters, but I have to do what is best for our membership,” he said.
Through direct payments and funds from its political action committee, LiUNA provided $90,000 to Weinstein in the primary. Ameris wouldn’t provide specifics on how much it plans to contribute to Rockey, but said the amount would be significant.
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Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco, the county’s GOP chairman, said LiUNA’s support of Rockey shows he is the best candidate for job growth in the region.
“Rockey’s opponent will cause this region to hemorrhage jobs,” DeMarco said. “She wants to go after what she calls polluters, but others would just call those manufacturers.”
Ryan Deto is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Ryan by email at rdeto@triblive.com or via Twitter .