Unions privately urge Chuck Schumer and Democratic leaders to stay out of Maine’s Senate primary

In recent days, union leaders have urged Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to end their support for Gov. Janet Mills in Maine’s Senate primary, highlighting what they see as her weaker labor record.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain had a conversation with Schumer this month to discuss 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 sees as the “shortcomings” of Democratic leaders’ approach to the 2026 midterm elections, “particularly their failure to properly listen to working-class voters.” Fain cited the Maine contest as an example, this person said.

Separately, on Monday, Michael Monahan, international vice president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ 2nd District, which includes Maine, sent a letter to DSCC leaders, obtained by NBC News, “expressing our deep concern regarding DSCC’s continued involvement in the 2026 Maine Democratic Senate primary.”

“We strongly urge the DSCC to refrain from further intervention in this primary,” Monahan wrote, adding, “Your committee’s support for Janet Mills is troubling to our members for several reasons.”

Monahan called Mills’ record with unions “heavy.” He pointed to public polls showing Platner ahead of Mills and argued that money spent against Platner could weaken him for the general election against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

The Maine race may be Democrats’ best opportunity to flip a Republican-held Senate seat this fall, and it’s a must-win for them to have a chance at taking control of the chamber. While the national Democratic establishment has thrown its support behind Mills, Labor’s push highlights some of the grassroots’ discontent with the decision — and the resilience of Platner, who has weathered the controversies.

Platner announced his candidacy in August and Mills ran two months later, setting off a primary that embodies Democrats’ generational and ideological divisions.

A University of New Hampshire poll taken in mid-February found that Platner had a 38-point lead over Mills among likely Democratic primary voters, well beyond the survey’s margin of error. The Mills campaign challenged the survey in a memo, pointing to other recent survey failures in Maine and arguing that the sample, which was much younger than Maine’s past electorates, did not accurately reflect the state.

The June 9 primary is competitive even though Platner faced 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 previous Reddit posts and covered up a tattoo on his chest that has a Nazi association — which he said he was unaware of when he got the tattoo. On Thursday, Platner was questioned at length on a podcast about his explanation of the tattoo.

But Platner and his energetic campaign gathered more union support. He was also endorsed by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-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, the union representative The Eastern Territory General Vice President, told NBC News he is preparing to have a Zoom call with the DSCC to discuss the race next week. He said his members were unhappy with Democratic leaders’ support for Mills after his union backed Platner.

“So I called my people in Washington and told them, ‘Schumer needs to stay out of Maine,'” Sullivan said, adding, “They said they’re going to stick to their guns and they’re going to invest millions of dollars in Janet Mills. … We’re going to fight to the end.”

Mills’ campaign highlighted a number of pro-union efforts she has supported in recent years, including raising the minimum wage, strengthening worker safety standards and prohibiting employers from retaliating or discriminating against workers who report them for labor law violations. The Mills campaign also highlighted an endorsement from the Maine AFL-CIO in 2022 and a statement of support from Monahan on a bill she vetoed in 2021.

“Governor Mills’ record of fighting for workers’ rights, dignity and wages has earned her praise from many unions across the state of Maine,” Tommy Garcia, Mills’ spokesman, said in a statement. “She has made it clear that she will continue to fight for workers in the Senate to lower costs, protect jobs and improve our economy – and given that she is the only candidate in this race to have negotiated and signed legislation that brings real progress, Maine voters know she will continue to deliver on their promises.”

The Platner campaign declined to comment.

Mills had some clashes with unions during his tenure as governor. In 2019 and 2021, she vetoed worker-backed measures aimed at strengthening the power of third-party decisions in disputes over salaries, insurance and retirement of public sector workers. The measure remains a priority for the Maine AFL-CIO.

In his 2021 veto letter, Mills wrote that the bill would delegate “the power of the purse to unelected officials, regardless of how those individuals are selected.”

Sullivan described the relationship between the unions and Mills as “adversarial.”

“So Janet Mills is not someone we would support,” he said. “And if, for some strange reason, she ends up having a miraculous victory against Graham Platner, you’ll probably see a lot of unions supporting Collins.”

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

Fain said in an October statement announcing that he supports Platner’s “focus on the real issues facing working people across this country – not the distractions the billionaire class uses to divide us. His campaign is rooted in the same fundamental issues our union fights for every day: a living wage, affordable health care, retirement security and time outside of work to actually live our lives.”

Platner also has support from the Maine branch 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” story.

“He’s an impressive person, a kind of [former Sen. Joe] Manchin, [Sen. John] “The Fetterman type, in that kind of category,” Monahan said, referring to Democrats in West Virginia and Pennsylvania who moved closer to the center and frequently clashed with the party base. “The numbers I keep seeing, I mean, it’s not just his polls. This guy is kicking ass.

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

The DSCC has since supported Mills’ candidacy, joining a joint fundraising committee with Mills’ campaign to help boost his fundraising. In a memo outlining “multiple paths” to the Senate majority released last month, the DSCC touted Mills and made no mention of Platner.

“Janet Mills has a very strong record, not only as the only Democrat to win in 20 years in Maine, but she also has a history of fighting for Mainers and understanding their issues,” DSCC Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York told NBC News in January. “She stood up to President Trump, she took him to court and won. So she uniquely, I think, has the courage and the ability to really take on Susan Collins and win. And that’s why we’re so supportive of Governor Mills.”

When asked if Maine’s Senate race would still be winnable if Platner was the nominee, Gillibrand responded, “I’m confident we’ll have the best candidate, and I’m confident we’ll win.”