Keith Ellison has already been endorsed by the AFL-CIO, AFSCME President Lee Saunders, United Steelworkers, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, among others. | Getty Ellison bags another top union endorsement in DNC chair race

Keith Ellison is adding another major endorsement in his bid to become Democratic National Committee chairman: UNITE HERE, a prominent union representing thousands of culinary and hospitality workers.

UNITE HERE International Union President D. Taylor announced the endorsement of the Minnesota congressman in a letter to supporters Wednesday.


"The next few months may get very ugly. We are all going to have to stand strong against attacks on immigrants, health care, unions and working people everywhere," the letter, first obtained by POLITICO, reads. "In this climate, it's clear to me that Rep. Keith Ellison will serve ably as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He is an organizer who listens, looks you in the eye and can tell uncomfortable truths. Rep. Ellison gets that elections are won on doorsteps, not in Washington consultant's offices. That's why our Union endorsed him."

Ellison has already been endorsed by the AFL-CIO, AFSCME President Lee Saunders, United Steelworkers, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, among others.

The congressman has won those endorsements despite the recent candidacy of Labor Secretary Tom Perez, a favorite of organized labor. Perez has been endorsed by top labor unions as well: the United Farm Workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, and the International Association of Fire Fighters.

UNITE HERE represents 270,000 hospitality and culinary workers, who are predominantly women and minorities. Until recently, the union was engaged in a labor dispute with the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel. That dispute was resolved in December, when UNITE HERE Culinary Workers Union Local 226, Bartenders Union Local 165 and the hotel agreed to a four-year contract. The union endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016.

The endorsement comes on the day of the second of six DNC candidate forums, this one hosted by The Huffington Post. Ellison, Perez, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley, South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison, Idaho Democratic Party Executive Director Sally Boynton Brown, and former Fox News analyst Jehmu Greene are all scheduled to appear at the forum.

Marianne Levine contributed to this report.