Sprinkler fitters union backs Essaibi George

A West Roxbury-based sprinkler fitters union on Thursday said it’s supporting Annissa Essaibi George’s mayoral campaign.

In a statement, Peter Gibbons, the business manager for Sprinkler Fitters Local 550, said Essaibi George, a Dorchester city councillor at-large, will encourage investing in apprenticeship programs. The union represents 800 members from Boston.

“Annissa Essaibi George has shown up and stood up for Boston’s hardworking families and residents time and time again—not just during campaign season. Now we’re proud to support her in her candidacy for Mayor of Boston,” he said.

Earlier this year, the sprinkler fitters union donated $500 each to Acting Mayor Kim Janey, South End state Rep. Jon Santiago and former Boston economic development official John Barros during the preliminary, according to publicly available campaign finance records.

Essaibi George and fellow City Councillor At-Large Michelle Wu topped this past Tuesday’s preliminary election and now are set to face off on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

The union, like others across the city, backed then-Rep. Marty Walsh in 2013. But unions overall are scattered in their endorsements in this year’s mayoral preliminary. The Massachusetts Nurses Association and Firefighters Local 718 backed Essaibi George while Wu picked up the backing of the Teamsters Local 25 and UNITE HERE New England, which represents textile and garment industry workers, among others.

Essaibi George has in her campaign platform a call for a city department on economic justice and workers’ rights, with a cabinet-level chief. The councillor has also pushed for improvements to Madison Park Technical Vocational High School.

“This campaign is about building coalitions across our neighborhoods, industries and workforce,” she said in a statement. “Unions like Local 550 and their members play a critical role in that work and will always have a seat at the table under an Essaibi George Administration.”

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