Doug Tudor Garners Key Labor Endorsement

President Ken Wood announces that International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 79 has unanimously endorsed Democrat Doug Tudor in his candidacy for the U.S. House’s open seat in Florida’s 12th Congressional District. This is the second time Tudor has earned this key labor endorsement.

Upon learning of this major endorsement, Tudor stated “I am proud to stand with the Teamsters as we work together to improve the quality of life, pension protections, and workplace safety standards for all workers. The Teamsters have played an important role in building our nation, and they will continue to be a major social, economic, and political force well into the future.”

Doug is a retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer, which is the senior enlisted rank of E9. He retired on February 29, 2008, and he was the Democratic nominee for the same seat in 2008. He ran against third-ranking Republican Adam Putnam and garnered over 137,000 votes. His effort was the second best in the state for any challenger that didn’t take the seat, and his race had the best dollar-to-vote ratio in the state.

During his Navy career, Doug served in a variety of assignments afloat and ashore, in and out of the United States. His final tour of duty was at Headquarters, U.S. Central Command on MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. During eight years at Central Command, Doug served as the Flag Writer, or Senior Administrative Assistant, for three Commanders – General Tommy Franks, USA; General John Abizaid, USA; and Admiral William Fallon, USN. He is a veteran of the combat zones of Afghanistan, Iraq, eastern Africa, and the Levant.

Florida’s 12th Congressional District encompasses east Hillsborough County, most of Polk County, and west Osceola County. The District has a Democratic-majority registration and is considered a key race in the 2010 cycle.

The Teamsters have a 106-year history of organizing and educating workers so they will attain a higher standard of living. Internationally, they have over 1.4 million members.