GOP Rep. McCotter’s union ties to be tested

[Geee]

TheHill:

Labor is keeping a close eye on Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) to see whether he disavows his pro-union record as he campaigns for the White House.

McCotter is among a small group of Republicans on Capitol Hill who have a history of supporting the labor movement.

“For a Republican, he’s pretty good on labor,” said Mark Gaffney, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO, when asked about McCotter.
His voting record on labor bills could be an albatross in the GOP primary, given the party’s opposition to unions. Brett McMahon of the Associated Builders and Contractors said McCotter’s friendly relations with unions should disqualify him from winning the GOP presidential primary.

“My first thought when I heard that he’s running for president — ‘He must be running for president for the International Brotherhood of Carpenters.’ There is not a bigger union stooge out there,” McMahon said. “For the life of me, I cannot understand where he thinks there is a Republican-loving union constituency out there.”

McMahon said McCotter can’t claim to be a free-market supporter while also backing unions.

“You cannot share both spaces. It’s impossible,” McMahon said.

The political pressure of a presidential bid could force McCotter to prove his conservative bona fides. Labor officials say they will be monitoring the lawmaker — who represents a Detroit suburb filled with union members — to see whether he shifts on their issues.