U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was in upstate cities Friday rallying with labor unions.
She rallied in Rochester with Teamsters Local 118 and in Syracuse with IBEW Local 43.
The junior senator also called for the passage of the Faster Labor Contracts Act in Congress.
If approved, it would require employers to come to the negotiating table within 10 days after employees vote to form a union. If no agreement were reached after 90 days, it would be referred to mediation.
“Labor is the heart and blood of America. Labor unions are what makes America the strongest country in the world,” Gillibrand said. “It’s allowed our economies to thrive and unions is what allowed people to work into the middle class and stay there.”