Oct. 15—Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, brought a union hall-type feeling to his campaign rally on Friday at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center in Johnstown.

Joined by 300 supporters, many wearing labor shirts and hats, he spoke about jobs, the economy and other issues affecting middle-class workers during a speech that lasted a little more than 20 minutes.

If elected, Fetterman said he will be a "champion for the union way of life." He told his "union brothers and sisters in the room" that "one thing we all have to agree is that all work has dignity, and you know what? Every paycheck must have dignity in it, too."

Fetterman also talked about unions in context of his recent health scare. He suffered a stroke earlier this year.

"You deserve to make a great wage, to have a safe job site, great health care, the same kind of health care that saved my life," Fetterman said. "The unions built the middle class and our commonwealth. Speaking of health care — you send me to Washington, D.C., I'm going to fight to expand health care. It is a fundamental right, a fundamental right. Every person in Pennsylvania and this nation should have the same kind of health care that saved my life."

Fetterman, the former mayor of Braddock, Allegheny County, compared himself to his Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, a celebrity doctor from New Jersey who moved to Pennsylvania to run for Senate.

"Do you honestly think Dr. Oz would want to raise his family in Johnstown?" Fetterman asked. "I'd be proud to be here. I picked Braddock, Pennsylvania. He picked New Jersey. Do you honestly think Dr. Oz really understands what your lives are like living in Johnstown?"

He said the nation needs to "defend democracy," while offering support for marriage equality, ending the filibuster and codifying Roe v. Wade, the court decision that conferred the right to have an abortion before being overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States.

"It is not Dr. Oz's choice," Fetterman said. "It's not the Republican legislatures' choice. It is every woman's choice between themselves and their doctor."

'He speaks to us'

Braddock, like Johnstown, has struggled since the collapse of the domestic steel industry, dealing with poverty, population loss and crime over the decades. Both towns are in Pennsylvania's Act 47 program for financially distressed municipalities.

Johnstown Mayor Frank Janakovic, a Democrat, offered his backing to Fetterman during the rally.

"We've got a person here in Fetterman that knows what the hell we're going through," Janakovic said. "We know that John will fight for Johnstown when he's in the Senate because he's a leader. We know he fought as the mayor of Braddock. We've seen him fight for all Pennsylvanians as lieutenant governor, and we know he'll fight like hell for us as our senator."

Several union members spoke in support of Fetterman on stage and during interviews.

Dannette Staruch, a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 668 organizer, said Fetterman will "protect the union way of life."

Gerald Lee, a United Steelworkers Local 2632 member, said "We definitely need pro-labor candidates. He's definitely for our unions."

Fetterman is "a legitimate working guy," said Daniel Kane, United Mine Workers of America International secretary-treasurer emeritus.

"Honest to God," Kane said. "And we're tired of people walking all over us, and if you look at the major pieces of anti-union legislation for the last 80 years, they've come out of the Republican Party."

Lifelong Republican and Somerset County resident Harold Shaulis, a Pennsylvania Dairyman of the Year, said Fetterman "is a person that knows Pennsylvania."

"He's here," Shaulis said. "He speaks to us. He knows our problems, and he has worked hard to solve them. I can't say that I agree with everything John stands for, but I'm at 80 or 85% agreement, and that's better than I do with my wife at times, so we're there."

Shaulis is in the clear minority in his own party.

"John Fetterman didn't show up to work as mayor or lieutenant governor," Cambria County Republican Party Chairwoman Jackie Kulback said. "His phony blue-collar schtick won't win over voters in Cambria County. You don't get a prize for showing up and giving a 10-minute stump speech and dodging questions from reporters and voters.

"I'm excited to see Dr. Oz in Johnstown soon."

Oz has already made multiple visits to the region.

Rachel Tripp, communications adviser for Oz, issued a statement prior to the event, saying, "John Fetterman's attempt to win over Pennsylvanians is too little, too late. Fetterman has spent his entire campaign dodging voter questions, refusing to speak with media, and hiding the truth about his policies and his health.

"The people of Cambria County won't be fooled — they know that Fetterman's radical policies, like his desire to dismantle the energy industry and enact a moratorium on fracking, are all wrong for Pennsylvania."