Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) evened the score with Hillary Clinton in national labor union endorsements after securing the support of the National Nurses United.
The organization, which boasts a membership of 185,000, announced the endorsement during an event in Oakland, Calif. on Monday.
“He’s real. He’s authentic. That’s why we’re supporting him,” said NNU’s executive director RoseAnn DeMoro.
“Bernie’s issues align with nurses from top to bottom,” she added, citing Sanders’ support for a single-payer healthcare system, his focus on climate change, and his opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership—an issue that DeMoro claimed Clinton “fell very short” on.
Last month, the American Federation of Teachers, which holds 1.6 million members, threw its weight behind Hillary Clinton. Both groups belong to the AFL-CIO, which is unlikely to endorse a Democratic candidate during the primary process.
Prior to NNU’s announcement, the group polled its members, of which 98% are women. DeMoro said she “assumed” that Clinton “being a woman” would translate into considerable support from the group.
“What is shocking, and this is literally shocking, was that wasn’t the case,” she noted.
On Sunday night, Sanders presided over the largest campaign rally so far of 2016, drawing 19,000 people to an arena in Portland, Oregon. An estimated 9,000 more people wanted to join the event, but were left waiting in line.
A separate event over the weekend in Seattle featuring the socialist senator was shut down by #BlackLivesMatter protesters who demonstrated against the city’s police department, and leveled charges that the candidate was not adequately responding to the movement against police violence.
In response to the protests, Sanders’ campaign released a policy paper detailing how the candidate plans to address racial injustice, including the widespread perpetration of unnecessary violence with impunity by police against people of color.
