Article Summary –
In 2021, Dan Osborn led a strike involving over 1,400 Kellogg’s cereal plant workers, which lasted for 77 days. Now, Osborn is contending for a United States Senate seat in Nebraska as an independent candidate, challenging senior Republican senator Deb Fischer. His campaign platform includes legalizing marijuana, raising the minimum wage, securing abortion rights, protecting gun rights, and expanding union organizing laws, although he has yet to garner significant financial support for his campaign.
Dan Osborn, Union Leader, Challenges Deb Fischer for Nebraska Senate Seat
In 2021, Dan Osborn led 500 union members from the Kellogg’s cereal plant in Omaha, Neb, onto the picket lines. The mechanic’s strike involved over 1,400 workers and lasted 77 days. Despite brutal storms, imported strikebreakers, and the threat of dismissals, the strike ended just before Christmas when the union finally accepted a contract.
Today, Osborn is aiming for a larger challenge — a United States Senate seat. Running as an independent in the Republican stronghold of Nebraska, Osborn’s attempt to defeat Deb Fischer, the state’s senior senator, will test if the growing strength of the labor movement can translate to high elective office.
Western Nebraska’s rail unions first approached Osborn to run for office. A December survey showed Osborn leading Fischer by 2%. Despite the questionable validity of the survey, it has sparked interest. With no Democrat in the race, the Nebraska Democratic Party is likely to endorse Osborn in March, and national unions are closely observing.
One question remains: can a union leader with no political experience find a platform that appeals to blue-collar wallets without falling into partisan divides? And can Osborn obtain the funding needed to broadcast this message beyond Omaha and Lincoln?
Despite the odds, Osborn remains confident. “I’ve gone up against a major American corporation,” he stated. “I stood up for what I thought was right, and I won.”
He believes that his narrow platform appeals to a broad range of voters: legalizing marijuana for medical use, raising the national minimum wage, securing abortion rights, protecting gun rights, and expanding laws to facilitate union organizing.
But obstacles abound for Osborn. Several railroad companies backed by Nebraska Republicans have overpowered rail unions. Additionally, Nebraska’s junior senator and former Republican governor, Pete Ricketts, hails from a billionaire family and has shown willingness to invest heavily in the race.
Another challenge is fundraising. Osborn needs around $2 million to fund his campaign, but so far has only raised just over $200,000. In contrast, Fischer finished the year with a campaign fund of nearly $3.3 million.
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