Published in PoliticsPA, by Jeffrey Robinowitz

June 4, 2014

The Boilermakers Local 154 announced today that they have decided to throw their support behind the Corbett campaign.

Upon endorsing Gov. Corbett, Boilermakers Local 154 Business Manager Raymond C. Ventrone expressed his pleasure with the energy policies Corbett has enacted during his administration.

“Since taking office, Governor Tom Corbett has kept his promise to fight for Pennsylvania jobs, making our Commonwealth stronger and more prosperous for our members, their families and all Pennsylvanians,” said Ventrone. “We look forward to what the next four years of Governor Corbett’s leadership will hold for Pennsylvania’s future and are proud to stand with him as he seeks re-election this November.”

According to the Boilermakers Local 154 website, their organization has been in place since 1896 and currently maintains a workforce of “2,200 members, 1,350 journeyman, 371 apprentices and 507 trainees.”

The Boilermakers are now the second major labor union to endorse Gov. Corbett, after the Laborers’ District Council of Western Pennsylvania endorsed Corbett in late May. Their President and Business Manager Philip Ameris, who represents the over 15,000 western Pennsylvania laborers, originally opposed Gov. Corbett when he was elected four years ago but has since changed his position and now regards Corbett as “someone you can trust and I think he’s moving Pennsylvania in the right direction. He’s very pragmatic and he keeps his word.”

However, such news should be greeted with reserved optimism by the Corbett campaign, as they still face an uphill battle. The most recent Quinnipiac Poll shows that Corbett trails Democratic candidate Tom Wolf by a margin of twenty points. While this latest endorsement is good news for Corbett, he and his team are not out of the woods yet.

(Jeffrey Robinowitz, "Governor Corbett Endorsed by Boilermakers," PoliticsPA, 6/4/14)