Unions are closing ranks behind Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf ahead of November’s election.
Local radio station WITF reports that four of Wolf’s top ten contributors this summer were labor unions, giving his campaign more than $1.4 million.
Those unions were the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees who gave him $500,000, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who contributed $410,000, the Mid-Atlantic Laborers’ Political League who gave $300,000 and the United Steelworkers who gave $200,500.
Critics say union support for Wolf is driven by the Democrat’s opposition to pension reform. But Wolf spokesman Jeffrey Sheridan told WITF that even though the campaign has received a lot of money from unions, the candidate is still committed to solving the pension problem.
Billy Pitman, press secretary for Republican Gov. Tom Corbett’s reelection campaign, takes a different view.
“He won’t address cost drivers like pensions,” Pitman told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “He’s advocating tax increases to pay for everything.”
Pitman explains that instead of advocating a tax increase to pay for programs like pensions, Corbett wants to tackle the problems head on.
“I think he is ignoring the issues to get [the unions]’ support,” Pitman added. “Tom Wolf continues to kick the can down the road.”
“The governor made job creation one of his top priorities,” Pitman concluded.
Corbett has been trailing Wolf in polls ahead of the November election.
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