Union founded in Wisconsin backs union nurse who will fight for public service workers and their right to bargain

RACINE, WI – The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents more than 1.3 million public service workers across the country, has endorsed ER nurse Mitchell Berman for Wisconsin’s First Congressional District. AFSCME was founded in Wisconsin in 1932 and has grown into one of the nation’s largest unions.

“AFSCME was born right here in Wisconsin, because Wisconsin knows better than anywhere what happens when politicians try to silence public workers,” said Mitchell Berman. “I’m running for Congress to lower costs, fix our broken healthcare system, and end corruption in Washington. I’ll never stop fighting to give working people a real seat at the table. I’m proud to have AFSCME’s support as we head into Election Day.”

AFSCME members work for states, counties, cities, and private and nonprofit employers, and in Wisconsin they staff correctional facilities, veterans’ homes, hospitals, universities, and local governments. Their endorsement adds to a broad labor coalition behind Berman, including the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, UFCW Local 1473, Teamsters Joint Council 39, United Steelworkers (USW), IBEW Wisconsin State Conference, SEIU Wisconsin, Communications Workers of America District 4 (CWA), United Auto Workers (UAW), Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Union (MASH), and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers Local 18 (SMART).

Berman will fight to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and make sure every worker who wants a union can form one without fear of retaliation. Steil has done the opposite. He voted against the PRO Act and scored 0% on the AFL-CIO’s legislative scorecard last year. Learn more about Berman’s priorities here.

With Election Day tomorrow, WI–01 is one of the closest House races in the country. All three public polls of the general election show the race within a single point, with the most recent showing Berman ahead 48-47, and public service workers across Southeast Wisconsin are lining up behind him.

About Mitchell Berman

Born and raised in a one-stoplight town in rural Wisconsin, Mitchell Berman learned the values of community, integrity, and hard work from his parents. He was the first in his family to graduate from college, working three jobs and taking out student loans to earn his degree. Determined to build a life through grit and perseverance, not privilege, he started working at age 12 and became a union member while in college. Berman is an emergency room nurse who has served veterans at the VA for more than a decade. A devoted husband and father, he’s running for Congress to put people over politics, and to fight for Wisconsin families.

The First Congressional District is one of the most competitive in the country, and has been named a “Red to Blue” district by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The district encompasses Janesville, Kenosha, Racine, Beloit, Elkhorn, Whitewater, and the Milwaukee suburbs of Cudahy, St. Francis, and South Milwaukee. In 2024, Donald Trump carried the swing district narrowly with just 51 percent of the vote. In both the 2023 and 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, Justices Janet Protasiewicz and Susan Crawford won the district handily by 6- and 6.5-point margins, respectively, and Justice Chris Taylor carried the district by ~20 points in April 2026. 

Learn more at BermanForCongress.com.

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