'Shocked' union leader issues legal threat after GOP twists his words to attack Dem

A New York Teamsters leader wants a Republican-aligned group to stop airing a Maine Senate ad that puts words in his mouth about Democrat Troy Jackson, NBC News reported on Wednesday.

Gregory Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237, had his lawyers send a letter dated October 13 to Senate Leadership Fund Executive Director Alex Latcham, telling the group to “immediately cease and desist.” The ad, put out by The Maine Standard, a group connected to the Senate Leadership Fund, criticizes Jackson’s backing of Medicare for All and credits Floyd with calling Jackson’s “plan” a disaster.

According to the letter, Floyd never said anything of the kind. His attorney, Eyad Asad, argued that placing Jackson’s name ahead of the quote falsely suggests Floyd condemned Jackson’s plan, and that the ad exploits Floyd’s union role to lend it credibility.

Floyd told NBC he doesn’t know Jackson and first saw the ad when a local union leader sent it to him. “I was shocked,” he said.

Jackson is the Democratic nominee against Maine Sen. Susan Collins, widely considered to be a banner race for the 2026 midterms.

NBC says the line appears to come from a 2019 CBS News New York story in which Floyd criticized Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s Medicare for All proposal over its effect on union members’ insurance. Floyd said he was talking about that particular plan, and that anyone wanting to reuse his comment should first contact him.

The Senate Leadership Fund stood by the ad. Communications director Chris Gustafson said Jackson’s Medicare for All plan “is a disaster and would wipe out union-negotiated health insurance.”

Jackson’s website says he would back the Medicare for All Act, legislation that would enroll all Americans in Medicare and prevent private insurers from selling overlapping coverage, which NBC notes could upend existing union plans. Collins has called the concept a government takeover. Jackson’s spokesperson said he has the support of more than 40 unions.

The letter gives the group until Friday, October 16, to take the ad down and keep all records of how it was made, including where the quote came from. Floyd says he will pursue further action if it refuses.