Maryland gubernatorial hopeful Tom Perez has won the endorsements of two major labor groups that represent state and local government workers, buoying his bid to beat out a crowded field of candidates vying for the Democratic Party nomination.

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       AFSCME Councils 3 and 67, which represent more than 50,000 government workers across 800 sites, announced at a joint news conference Wednesday that they would be throwing their support behind Perez. The two unions did not endorse a candidate in the 2018 primary, but eventually put their support behind Democratic nominee Ben Jealous in the general election. They have clashed repeatedly with Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and were critical Wednesday of his treatment of workers during the pandemic.

       “There’s never been a more important time for new leadership,” said Patrick Moran, president of Council 3, the largest union for state government workers.

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       The past few years have been “miserable” for state employees, added Glenard Middleton, executive director of Council 67.

       Perez, who served as labor secretary in the Obama administration, has sought to cast himself in the governor’s race as a close ally to organized labor. If elected, he said, he would listen to workers and use the state’s historic $2.5 billion budget surplus to protect vulnerable residents from eviction, homelessness and food insecurity.

       “Under my administration,” he said to union members, “You will have a voice.”

       Moran said union leaders chose Perez after speaking with eight gubernatorial candidates at a forum in September.

       “He has experience,” Moran said, citing Perez’s long résumé, which spans positions in local, state and federal government. “And that matters for governor.”

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       Former DNC chair Tom Perez launches bid for Maryland governor

       An attorney by training, Perez is one of nine Democrats seeking to take over the gubernatorial seat from Hogan, who is term-limited. He started his political career in Rockville, becoming the first Latino person elected to the Montgomery County Council in 2002, before going on to work in Annapolis under the administration of then-Gov. Martin O’Malley. He joined the federal government and was most recently chair of the Democratic National Committee.

       Perez is one of two former appointees of President Barack Obama in the governor’s race; former education secretary John B. King Jr. launched his campaign in April.

       The Mid-Atlantic Region of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, which primarily represents construction workers, said in February that it would support Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) in his bid for governor.

       The Maryland State Education Association, which represents 74,000 teachers across the state, has yet to give out its coveted endorsement in the race.