Trump-Vance and Harris-Walz are both seeking union support

Harris sought (and won) the endorsement of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, an organization of similar size.

The UAW and AFSCME also supported the Harris-Walz campaign. And UAW President Shawn Fain spoke on the first night of the Democratic National Convention.

Although the larger Teamsters group has so far withheld its endorsement, Politico reported that the National Black Caucus of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has endorsed the Harris campaign. Unite Here, the hospitality workers’ union, also backed Harris.

While union membership has declined in recent decades, there are still about 14 million Americans who belong to a union — a significant number in an increasingly tight presidential race.

“I think unions play an exaggerated role relative to their overall numbers,” said Christian Grose, a professor of political science and public policy at the University of Southern California. “The influence of the Union is really strong because of their ability to rally voters.”

Here’s how candidates deal with work-related issues.

The Trump-Vance approach

Trump, in his 2016 presidential bid, swayed many workers from Hillary Clinton by leaning on his populist message, particularly citing trade deals like NAFTA for job losses and leaning toward protectionism.

During this year’s re-election campaign, Trump tried to build on his previous momentum by courting pro-labor groups. In his platform, Trump proposes “big tax cuts for workers and no tax on tips” if re-elected. In recent months, he has disrupted several campaigns trying to woo the Teamsters and other groups with pro-union sentiment.

For months, Trump has been eating away at President Joe Biden’s base in key swing states, and having O’Brien speak at the RNC underscored Republican support from this key bloc of voters.

But despite her efforts, now that Harris has joined the race, Trump’s lead in support of unions has been reduced as she has won the support of several massive pro-labor groups.

On August 13, the former president was accused by the United Autoworkers union of violating labor law for mocking his striking workers during his rambling conversation with Elon Musk the night before. The complaint, filed with the National Labor Relations Board, suggests that Trump’s comments amount to intimidation of workers.

“You’re the ultimate cutter,” Trump told Musk.

“I won’t name the company, but they are going on strike,” he continued. “And you say, ‘It’s okay. You are all gone. You are all gone. So each of you has left.” You are the greatest.”

It is not clear which company Trump was referring to. Reuters reported last year that an NLRB complaint against Tesla, which alleged the company illegally fired workers for striking, had been dismissed.

The United Auto Workers union described Trump’s remarks to Musk — and Musk’s subsequent laughter and agreement — as “unlawful attempts to threaten and intimidate workers.”

“When we say Donald Trump is a crustacean, that’s what we mean. When we say Trump opposes everything our union stands for, we mean it,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement.

The Teamsters boss also slammed Trump’s comments, with O’Brien telling Politico that “Firing workers for organizing, striking and exercising their rights as Americans is economic terrorism.”

Although he has positioned himself as pro-union, Trump is no stranger to complaints about his labor policies and approach to workers’ rights. In 2020, the Economic Policy Institute released a report listing 50 ways the first Trump administration eroded workers’ rights and expanded corporate power.

Trump’s pick, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, spoke positively of police unions but denounced collective bargaining for Starbucks employees and opposed pro-labor measures during his short term in Congress.

Despite espousing populist ideals on the campaign trail, Vance has a history of opposing pro-labor measures. He appeared briefly on the picket line during last year’s auto workers’ strike, but opposed the Protection of the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would have expanded protections for unionized workers.

Harris’ colleague, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, attacked Vance this month for his voting record on workers’ rights, but the freshman senator from Ohio has supported at least two pro-worker bills since joining Congress, according to The Washington Post.

Vance also co-sponsored the Employee and Manager Teamwork Act, a bill that would undermine unions by allowing voluntary “employee involvement organizations,” creating groups that would not be covered by collective bargaining agreements, and could be dissolved by an employer at will.

However, two political science experts told Business Insider that Trump’s comments targeting union employees were politically unwise given the state of the race.

“Given how tight this race has gotten, Trump can’t afford to lose any voter group, and especially not any union members,” said Trish Crouse, a political science and public administration practitioner, resident at the University of New Haven.

While the Trump campaign dealt with the fallout from the NLRB allegations — with CNN reporting that a campaign spokesman called the claim from the United Auto Workers union “frivolous” and a “shameless political stunt” — the Harris-Walz campaign was busy take a different approach. .

The Harris-Walz approach

When Harris stepped in to succeed Biden after he ended his re-election bid, she stepped into the shoes of a man aiming to be the most pro-labor president in history.

Biden encouraged Amazon workers to unionize, issued executive orders to improve working conditions for federal project workers, established new rules for pay equity for federal workers, and in 2023 became the first US president to step on the picket line.

As vice president, Harris repeatedly addressed unions and promoted pro-labor policies, including the bipartisan infrastructure bill that invested in millions of union jobs with labor and wage protections.

Walz — a former school teacher and union member — bolstered the campaign’s pro-labor profile, and the Minnesota governor leaned into his union past on the campaign trail.

“I would call it night and day,” Larry Cohen, former president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the largest communications and media union in the United States, told BI of the differences between the Harris and Trumps campaigns on work problems. “Trump and especially Vance claim to support a type of populism, but when it comes to workers organizing, as Trump said on his Twitter feed with Musk last Monday, when workers strike, you fire them.”

The Harris-Walz campaign seems eager to maintain its reputation for supporting workers. Although the campaign has yet to release its labor platform, Harris and Walz have made union support a key talking point in stump speeches.

At Monday’s kickoff of the Democratic National Convention, support for unions was central to several speeches.

The DNC crowd enthusiastically chanted “Union yes” as labor leaders took the stage, underscoring the party’s enthusiasm for supporting workers’ rights.

Earlier this month, Walz spoke at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) International Convention in downtown Los Angeles.

Addressing the union, which represents 1.4 million members, the Associate Press reported Walz as saying, “When unions are strong, America is strong.”

Both Harris and Walz appeared before a group of United Auto Workers in Detroit on August 8, and Associated Press vice president Harris said it was “good to be in the labor house.”

At the event, she championed the value of unions, saying they were “about understanding that no one has to fight alone”.

Union voters have historically voted for Democrats, although some white-collar workers have been more open to supporting Republicans in recent years, Grose said.

While Trump’s comments about striking workers may not win the Harris-Walz ticket a wave of new voters, it could energize an already existing base, he added.

“You’ve got Trump laughing with Musk — that’s going to light a fire under senior union members to mobilize,” Grose said.