Rahm Emanuel Joins Denise Powell and Labor Leaders on Picket Line in 100-Degree Heat
by Matt Johnson
(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
OMAHA — Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District race continues to draw national attention. On Monday afternoon, Rahm Emanuel—former Congressman, Chief of Staff to Barack Obama, and Mayor of Chicago—joined Denise Powell and 47 “pretty pissed-off teamsters” of Local 554 on the picket line outside Premier Midwest Beverage.
The union had been on strike since early February, dealing with bitterly cold temperatures at first and now highs reaching into the triple digits in July.
Emanuel and Powell Join the Picket Line
The choice of venue was specifically to highlight Powell’s ties to labor and the ongoing strike at Premier. The Plains Sentinel asked Powell how Emanuel came to visit Omaha and join her at the picket line.
“He’s been incredibly supportive since the primary. He’s been great and you know, he’s a midwesterner. We can still count Chicago as the Midwest, and he just wanted to come out and be helpful,” Powell said. “Obviously, we told him what was happening here at Premier, and he was really eager to use his platform to get some folks out to help tell their story.”
While Emanuel denied being in Omaha for any reason other than supporting Powell, he has been making moves that suggest a possible presidential run in 2028. Last month, he visited New Hampshire for a “spin-free” bike tour across the state, and he has held other events in early primary states such as Virginia and Iowa within the past year.
The Plains Sentinel asked Emanuel if he had aspirations in the “blue dot” other than supporting Powell, and he denied it.
“No. Powell. 100%,” Emanuel said.
When speaking to the press after the event, Emanuel also highlighted the importance of Powell’s race.
“You only get one strike,” Emanuel said. “This is it. If Denise wins, we win the majority. If Denise doesn’t, we don’t win the majority.”
Support from Labor Leaders
Other labor leaders from across the state also spoke. Tim Royers of the NSEA praised Powell for her effort to defeat school choice via ballot initiative in 2024. Mike Gage, Nebraska AFL-CIO President, also spoke, going after opponent Brinker Harding on the minimum wage.
“Just last week Brinker voted against raising the minimum wage, even after 70% of Omaha residents had voted for a minimum wage increase in 2024,” Gage said.
Earlier this year, the Nebraska Legislature passed legislation (LB 258) to amend the voter-approved minimum wage, allowing employers a lower youth minimum wage of $13.50 per hour. City councils in Lincoln and Omaha have passed ordinances seeking to override the state law by requiring the full $15 minimum wage for all workers, including teens. These ordinances are now being litigated by State Attorney General Mike Hilgers.
Emanuel chimed in on the minimum wage, tying it to the need for a Democratic majority in Congress.
“When was the last time Congress increased the minimum wage?” Emanuel asked. “When the Democrats took the majority in 2006. Don’t let anybody ever tell you elections don’t matter. It passed 20 years ago—that was the last time—and that’s when Nancy Pelosi got the gavel. Democrats got the majority, and that was the first bill we got George Bush to sign into law.”
Powell also used the backdrop of the strike at Premier Midwest Beverage as a line of attack against Harding.
“Four members of the [Omaha] City Council wrote this company a letter asking them to come to the table with a fair deal. Guess who didn’t sign on to that letter? My opponent.”
While the union endorsed Powell’s opponent, John Cavanaugh, in the primary, they are now wholeheartedly endorsing her in the general election.
“During the primaries, when Labor endorsed her opponent, as we did, Denise continued to visit this strike line and gave her commitment to Labor,” said Keith Gamerl, business agent for Local 554 . “She gave her commitment to these people. Those actions showed us that she’s just not a politician. She’s a woman of her word.”
Midterm Elections Loom Ahead
Fellow congressional candidate Chris Backemeyer (District 1) also attended the event but did not speak, as did candidate for Secretary of State Sarah Slattery.
At the end of the event, City Councilman Ron Hug presented Emanuel with a certificate of honorary citizenship to the city of Omaha.
“The difference between Omaha and Chicago? If I got this in Chicago, you could vote,” Emanuel said.
With the midterm elections nearly 100 days away, and another presidential primary gearing up soon afterward, there could be more national figures appearing in the “blue dot” to campaign before Election Day on Nov. 2.
— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.