The International Longshore and Warehouse Union on Monday endorsed Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s re-election campaign.

The state’s largest private-sector labor union, with 18,000 members, said the Democrat has consistently supported workers’ rights.

Abercrombie is facing state Sen. David Ige in the Democratic primary.

Donna Domingo, the president of ILWU Local 142, said at a news conference at the union’s Ala Moana headquarters, that the governor has “always been on the side of workers. He understands the critical role ILWU plays in many of Hawaii’s most important industries, which include tourism and agriculture and shipping.”