One of the problems Democrats had in 2016 was that while many big union leaders backed Hillary, many of the workers who make up the unions backed Trump.
Now, big labor is warning Democrats about 2020. Will they listen?
FOX News reports:
Big Labor warns 2020 Dems: Don’t take union workers’ support for granted
Big Labor warned Democratic presidential contenders Wednesday against taking union support for granted, adding that Dems would need to be more honest about the party’s record on workers’ rights, reports said.
The president of the AFL-CIO labor union, which represents 12.5 million union workers, addressed a closed-door meeting with representatives from each campaign in attendance before the second round of debates Wednesday in Detroit.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka argued that “both parties” needed to take responsibility for U.S. labor laws that benefit corporations to the detriment of the middle class.
“More often than not, the Republican Party is bad for workers. This president is bad for workers. But let’s be honest about the Democratic Party’s record,” Trumka said.
“We are caught in a web of century-old labor laws that prioritize unchecked corporate greed over all else,” Trumka said, according to the Huffington Post. “We can blame this White House all we want. But this isn’t new.”
It wasn’t the first time the AFL-CIO has criticized Democrats this year.
In March, the union implored Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other lawmakers to not go through with the Green New Deal, claiming the plan to combat the effects of climate change would cause “immediate harm” to millions of union employees and threaten their livelihoods.
This is an extremely important issue for Democrats, as they usually rely on union support to help them win. But nothing is set in stone.
The Washington Examiner reports:
AFSCME more careful about its endorsement as 2020 Democrats vie for its support this weekend
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, the nation’s largest public employee labor union will welcome the field of 19 Democratic presidential candidates on Saturday seeking out the union’s endorsement this election cycle, but that endorsement will not come as easily as it did last election cycle.
Just days after the candidates sparred on stage over healthcare policy and immigration in Detroit, they will now have the opportunity to connect with members of their party’s base organizing machine and propose each of their plans at UNLV. There, veteran political journalist Jon Ralston, editor of the Nevada Independent, and HuffPost Washington Bureau Chief Amanda Terkel will co-moderate the forum.
“[We] will be pressing the candidates on their plans to strengthen protections for working people and the position that unions occupy. We also want to hear specifics from candidates on how they intend to get their ambitious agendas through what could be a divided Congress, and their views on the role of government in people’s lives,” Ralston wrote at the Independent.
American workers know Trump is on their side.
It makes a huge difference.
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