Pa.'s AFL-CIO backs Rendell for governor

HARRISBURG (AP) -- The state AFL-CIO endorsed former Philadelphia Mayor Edward G. Rendell for governor, a union official said Thursday.
Rendell faces Republican Attorney General Mike Fisher in the Nov. 5 election. A year ago, the union supported the candidacy of Auditor General Robert P. Casey Jr., whom Rendell defeated in the May Democratic primary.
Rendell won the unanimous backing of 47 members of the AFL-CIO's executive council who voted during a closed-door meeting at a Hershey hotel, labor spokesman James Deegan said. Eight members abstained.
Philadelphia's building trades and private sector unions supported Rendell during his primary campaign, but many statewide labor unions supported Casey because of hard feelings over contract concessions Rendell imposed on city employees during his two mayoral terms.