Unions Are Secretly Urging Chuck Schumer And Democratic Leaders To Drop Out Of Maine’s Senate Primary

Union leaders in recent days have urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to end their support for Gov. Janet Mills in the Maine Senate primary, pointing to what they see as her weak record on labor.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain had a conversation with Schumer this month to discuss the race, among other topics, two people familiar with the call told NBC News. The UAW supports Mills’ opponent, Democrat Graham Platner, while Schumer and the DSCC support Mills.

A person familiar with the call said Fain discussed with Schumer what he saw as “mistakes” in how Democratic leaders are approaching the 2026 midterms, “primarily their failure to listen adequately to working-class voters.” Fain set an example with the Maine contest, the person said.

Separately, on Monday, Michael Monahan, international vice president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ District, which includes Maine, sent a letter to the leadership of the DSCC, obtained by NBC News, “expressing our deep concern about the continued involvement of the DSCC in the Maine Democratic Senate Primary of 2026.”

“We strongly urge the DSCC to refrain from intervening in this school,” Monahan wrote, adding, “Your committee’s support of Janet Mills is troubling to our membership for a number of reasons.”

Monahan called Mills’ record with labor unions “full of strength.” He pointed to public polls showing Platner leading Mills and said the money spent against Platner could weaken him in the general election against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

The Maine race is perhaps the Democrats’ best chance to turn a Republican-held Senate seat this fall, and they must win to have any chance of taking the chamber. While the Democratic Party nationally supported Mills, the labor push highlights the unsatisfied nature of that decision — and the tenacity of Platner, who has faced controversy.

Platner announced his candidacy in August, and Mills jumped in two months later, sparking a primary that spans Democrats’ generational and ideological divides.

A University of New Hampshire poll conducted in mid-February found Platner with a 38-point lead over Mills among Democratic primary voters, beyond the poll’s margin of error. The Mills campaign disputed the poll in a memo, pointing to some of the poll’s recent misses in Maine and arguing that the sample, skewed much younger than previous Maine voters, did not accurately reflect the state.

The June 9 primary is hotly contested as Platner has faced backlash from a series of damaging revelations early in his campaign.

Last year, Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, apologized for a series of offensive comments he made in past Reddit posts and covered up a Nazi tattoo on his chest — which he said he was unaware of when he got the tattoo. On Thursday, Platner was pressed at length on a podcast about his interpretation of the painting.

But Platner and his strong campaign have rallied more union support. He was also welcomed by Sens. Bernie Sanders, Vt., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Sheldon Whitehouse, DR.I.

Platner’s union supporters include the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. David Sullivan, of the union The general vice president for the eastern region, told NBC News that he will make a Zoom call with the DSCC to discuss the race next week. He said his membership was saddened by Democratic Alliance leaders’ support of Mills after his union passed Platner.

“So I called my folks in DC and said, ‘Schumer needs to get out of Maine,'” Sullivan said, adding: “They said they were going to stick to their guns and put millions of dollars into buying Janet Mills. …

Mills’ campaign highlighted several pro-worker initiatives he has supported in recent years, including raising the minimum wage, increasing worker safety standards and prohibiting employers from retaliating against or discriminating against workers who report violations of labor laws. The Mills campaign also featured a 2022 endorsement from the Maine AFL-CIO and a supportive statement from Monahan about the bill he voted for in 2021.

“Governor Mills’ record of fighting for workers’ rights, dignity, and wages has earned him the admiration of many unions in the state of Maine,” said Tommy Garcia, a spokesman for Mills, in a statement. “He has made it clear that he will continue to fight for working people in the Senate to lower costs, protect jobs, and grow our economy — and as the only candidate in this race who has negotiated and signed legislation that delivers real progress, Maine voters know he will continue to deliver.”

The Platner campaign declined to comment.

Mills had conflicts with organized labor during his time as governor. In 2019 and 2021, he voted for labor-backed measures aimed at strengthening the power of third-party adjudicators in disputes public sector wages, insurance and retirement. The measure remains a priority for the Maine AFL-CIO.

In his 2021 veto letter, Mills wrote the bill would transfer “fund power to unelected officials, regardless of how those people are elected.”

Sullivan described the staff’s relationship with Mills as “adversarial.”

“So Janet Mills is not someone we will support,” he said. And if, for some inexplicable reason, he ends up pulling off a surprise victory over Graham Platner, you’ll likely see more unions supporting Collins.

The UAW, which represents about 2,000 workers in Maine, endorsed Platner a day after Mills launched his campaign in October.

Fain said in an October statement announcing the endorsement that Platner is “focused on the real issues facing workers across the country — not the distractions the billionaire class uses to divide us. His campaign focuses on the core issues our union fights for every day: a living wage, affordable health care, retirement security, and time away from work to truly live our lives.”

Platner also holds accreditation from the Maine affiliate of National Nurses United and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.

In an interview, IBEW’s Monahan said he was drawn to Platner’s “impressive” history.

“He’s an impressive person, type a [former Sen. Joe] Manchin, [Sen. John] A Fetterman type, in that type of category,” Monahan said, referring to Democrats from West Virginia and Pennsylvania who are close to the center and often butt heads with the party’s base. The guy kicks ass.”

Schumer and the DSCC did not respond to requests for comment. They touted Mills as a strong recruit when he launched his campaign in October. Mills told NBC News at the time that he met with Schumer once, a few months before he launched his campaign, and that he encouraged him to run for Senate.

The DSCC has since endorsed Mills’ candidacy, signing on to a joint fundraising committee with Mills’ campaign to help raise his money. In a memo outlining the “multiple approaches” to the Senate majority released last month, the DSCC singled out Mills and made no mention of Platner.

“Janet Mills has such a strong record, not only as a Democrat who has won 20 years in Maine, but she has a history of fighting for Mainers, understanding their problems,” DSCC chairman, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, told NBC News in January. “He stood up to President Trump, sued him in court and won. So, I think, he has the grit and the chops to take on Susan Collins and win. That’s why we’re so supportive of Gov. Mills.”

Asked if the Maine Senate race would still be successful if Platner was nominated, Gillibrand said, “I’m confident we’re going to have a great candidate, and I’m sure we’re going to win.”