Labor’s big hero basked in a boisterous rock-star welcome at Faneuil Hall on Sunday.
Oh yeah, Hillary Clinton was there too.
That's a bit of an exaggeration. Clinton first addressed an ardent, overflow crowd outside the building, and then was enthusiastically greeted by several hundred trade union members who packed the historic hall. But she owed much of her rousing reception to labor's great love for her endorser: Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.
Terry O'Sullivan, president of the Laborers' International Union of North America, heated up an already warmed-up crowd by introducing Walsh as a man of principle, character, honesty, and integrity, "the best damn mayor in the United States of America . . . the real deal . . . a champion of justice" who "never backs up, never backs down.''
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Somewhere in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio is sighing.
To a noisy standing ovation, Walsh took the stage, with Clinton a few steps behind.
"We need someone who's battle-tested," said Walsh. "Someone who works hard and is also smart." More than that, he told the cheering crowd, "She's got heart and she's got grit. . . . Get your sledgehammers ready, because we've got a glass ceiling to demolish."
Walsh's mother, who was in the crowd, was thrilled, the mayor said afterwards. "She was a Clinton voter before I was a Clinton voter," said Walsh.
And to think Vice President Joe Biden could have snatched one of those votes away.
Before Sunday's rally, Walsh acknowledged he was "torn" over the endorsement as long as Biden was contemplating a presidential run. Now he's all in for Clinton.
The theory is that the same field organization that helped to fill up Faneuil Hall can do the same in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. But rank-and-file union members don't always follow their leaders' marching orders; and some local unions are lining up behind Clinton rival Bernie Sanders.
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To solidify commitment to her campaign, Clinton told the rally, "I'm the only Democratic candidate in this race who will pledge to raise your incomes, not your taxes." As others noted, it seemed a veiled reference to Sanders' support for single-payer health insurance, which, according to Clinton campaign math, adds up to a middle-class tax hike.
Clinton also used the event to unveil a $275 billion infrastructure plan. While the subject doesn't lend itself to campaign poetry, a promise to commit money to fix bridges, highways, trains, and sewer systems is music to labor's ears.
Labor leaders are framing 2016 as a struggle for survival. In his introductory remarks, O'Sullivan of the Laborers' International Union, said Tea Party extremists are out "to destroy the labor union." Against those forces, he said, "there is only one choice" — Clinton.
Not every Democrat agrees. So Clinton is lucky to get backing from Walsh, a popular mayor with a progressive agenda and loyal circle of union admirers.
In Boston, Walsh's close labor ties have drawn scrutiny since he won election in 2013. A union card holder since 1988, he rose through the ranks to head the city's largest building trades group. As O'Sullivan said in his introduction, Walsh "is one of us. . . he thinks like us . . . he lives like us." That's a double-edged sword for Walsh as he tries to prove his independence from labor. Those efforts suffered a setback recently after questions were raised about the role of a member of the Walsh administration in connection with a federal indictment accusing members of Teamsters Local 25 of extortion.
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But no doubts about Walsh's union allegiances clouded the Faneuil Hall event.
Clinton needs the people in that room to believe in her. They already believe in Walsh.
Joan Vennochi can be reached at vennochi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @Joan_Vennochi.