Sen. Ed Markey’s re-election campaign workers have unanimously agreed to unionize, a first for statewide campaigns in Massachusetts.

The campaign and Teamsters Local 122 announced a contract covering 27 staffers on Wednesday afternoon, including organizers, communications and digital media teams and finance assistants. Health care benefits, for which the staffers were already fully covered, have been extended to include full coverage for their families, up from 33% previously. The contract also established a paid time off schedule.

“The Markey for Senate campaign is worker-powered, and our campaign’s values are union values," Markey said in a statement. “This agreement reflects our continued commitment to live those values every day. My father was a labor leader, and I grew up listening to him talk at the kitchen table about the importance of his union membership. I am proud that our campaign is the first unionized state-based campaign in Massachusetts’ history.”

Markey faces a primary challenge from U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts’s 4th District.

John Murphy, Local 122 Secretary-Treasurer and Teamsters International Vice President, said political campaign workers “deserve a voice on the job as much as anyone.”

“These workers, who face the prospect of long, pressure-filled hours, need a strong partner like the Teamsters that will fight for their rights,” Murphy said in a statement.

Jaymie Cobb, a regional organizing director for the campaign who sits on the bargaining committee, said in a statement that talks with the union began in December. By January, 80% of the campaign had signed union cards.

“Senator Markey has always been a champion for unions,” Cobb said. “He knows that union rights have shaped our country and made it what it is today. I am grateful to the Teamsters Local 122 for not only their support of our campaign during this process, but for the work they do each and every day advocating for workers’ rights.”

While Markey’s is the first statewide campaign to unionize in the commonwealth, the campaigns of several Democrats running for president had organized, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

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