City Councilor Michell Wu, left, and City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, right. Photos courtesy of Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103 announced its endorsement of Boston mayoral candidate Annissa Essaibi George during an event at its office on Freeport Street in Dorchester yesterday.

“IBEW Local 103 is incredibly proud to stand with Annissa Essaibi George in her candidacy for mayor of Boston,” IBEW Local 103 Business Manager Lou Antonellis said in a statement. “As a former union member herself, Annissa knows our values firsthand. She will advocate and fight for us every single day as our Mayor, and will always govern with Boston’s hard working residents and families in mind.”

The endorsement carries echoes of former Mayor Marty Walsh’s own first campaign in 2013, where he used his own connections in the building trades to build a powerful base of support there that ultimately catapulted him over the candidate seen as more progressive. IBEW Local 103’s membership includes 10,000 electricians and technicians in the Boston area.

“To the members of IBEW Local 103, thank you for your support in this race,” Essaibi George said in a statement. “As your mayor, I will work hand in hand with our unions to fight for fair wages, increase benefits and maintain safe working conditions for all. Labor will always have a seat at the policymaking table in order for us to do this work, together.”

Essaibi George has promised to form a city Department of Economic Justice and Workers’ Rights, headed by a cabinet-level chief who will report directly to the mayor, potentially giving unions an even stronger voice at City Hall.

The news came as Essaibi George’s rival and fellow at-large city councilor, Michelle Wu, announced her own, significant endorsement from 1199SEIU, a 10,000-member Boston-area local of the Service Employees International Union that “intends to put significant financial and grassroots support behind Wu’s bid to be Boston’s first woman of color to be elected mayor,” the Wu campaign said in a statement, including $3 million from the union’s political action committee.

“The healthcare workers of 1199SEIU are proud to endorse and stand with Michelle Wu for Mayor of Boston,” 1199 SEIU Executive Vice President Tim Foley said in a statement. “Never before have the issues of healthcare, childcare and pay and benefits for essential workers been more important. We are at a crossroads and we need a Mayor who will center the lives of caregivers in our recovery. We believe  Michelle Wu is the candidate who will not only recognize our work and sacrifice as caregivers,  but will help bring meaningful change to the city of Boston for everyone.”

Wu said her push for things like better childcare for city residents helped win the union over.

“1199SEIU and our campaign share a core principle: we strive for social, racial, and environmental justice in every community across Boston,” she said in a statement. “I’m proud of the work we have done together over many years to provide good jobs, quality care and economic opportunity for all Bostonians and look forward to our continued partnership. Knowing that the healthcare workers of 1199SEIU have our back means everything—and we’ve got theirs.”