For the first time in 24 years, Debbie Wasserman Schultz will not get the endorsement of the AFL-CIO.
Despite winning the recommendation of the Broward County chapter, Wasserman Schultz failed to get the required 2/3 votes to secure the endorsement.
Some state AFL-CIO chapters have stated there would be no endorsement of Democrats who voted in favor of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
That includes Wasserman Schultz.
If you remember, Wasserman Schultz’s primary opponent, Tim Canova, protested the recommendation that Wasserman Schultz be endorsed, citing the union's failure to screen all candidates.
Turns out Canova was right.
At a June 12, 2016 meeting in Orlando, where AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka was present, as was Wasserman Schultz, delegates from the CWA and the NNU spoke out against Wasserman Schultz. It resulted in the failed endorsement.
Wasserman Schultz challenged the position of the national leadership, but it fell on deaf ears.
Both the CWA and the NNU have endorsed Tim Canova.
Richard Templin, president of the Florida AFL-CIO confirmed to me, via phone, that Wasserman Schultz did not receive the required number of votes needed for the endorsement.
Wasserman Schultz’s vote in favor of the TPP, as well as her role in pushing the Democratic Party to the right, were the major bones of contention delegates cited.
This is a second blow to Wasserman Schultz in quick-time. This week she was relieved of control of the DNC, relinquishing it to a member of Hillary Clinton’s campaign staff.
Tim Canova, who recently passed the $2 million mark in donations, is giving Wasserman Schultz a run for her money in Congressional District 23.
Canova has challenged Wasserman Schultz to a series of six debates, in which she will have to defend her record publicly.
So far, she has refused to commit to any debates.
Politicians are realizing that votes have consequences, and for Wasserman Schultz, one of those consequences is losing the support of major labor unions.
It is yet to be seen if she will also lose her congressional seat.
CD 23 is heavily Jewish, but Wasserman Schultz’s vote for the Iran agreement has angered many in the Jewish community.
Her performance as DNC chair has angered many Democrats across the country, resulting in petitions and calls for her removal as chair, the loudest critic being Bernie Sanders.
Wasserman Schultz, who received $68,000 from the Payday Loan industry, walked back her support of the industry after heavy pressure from Tim Canova and Allied Progress.
Some say it’s too little, too late.
Wasserman Schultz has been a divisive figure in the Democratic Party mostly due to her handling of the presidential primary.
Some feel she attempted to stack the deck in Hillary Clinton’s favor.
A DNC member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said perhaps now that Wasserman Schultz has been relieved of her duties, the picketing that routinely went on at the DNC will stop, and things can get back to normal. The national convention is coming up, and the party is preparing to officially nominate its standardbearer, and unite to defeat Donald Trump.
As far as CD 23, things are just starting to heat up and a lot of eyes will be on that race to see if Canova can pull off in Florida what Dave Brat pulled off in Virginia, when he defeated Eric Cantor.
Leslie Wimes is founder and president of Women On The Move, and the Democratic African American Women Caucus, www.daawc.com.
