Unions coalescing around Harris nomination

By TIM ROWDEN
Editor-in-Chief

Unions are lining up behind Vice President Kamala Harris following her endorsement from the AFL-CIO as she seeks the Democratic nomination for president.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), representing 1.8 million members, was the first to endorse Harris on July 22, the same day the AFL-CIO announced its endorsement.

Days later Harris spoke at AFT’s national convention in Houston, where she told delegates “One of the best ways to keep our nation moving forward is to give workers a voice, to protect the freedom to organize, to defend the freedom to collectively bargain, and end union busting.

“We face a choice between two very different visions of our nation,” Harris said. “One focused on the future and one focused on the past. And we are fighting for the future. And in our vision of the future we see is a place where every person has an opportunity not just to get by but an opportunity to get ahead. A future where no child has to grow up in poverty, where every senior can retire with dignity, and where every worker has the freedom to  join a union. We see a future with affordable healthcare, affordable childcare and paid leave, not just for some but for all!”

Harris loudly declared her support for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act saying President Biden had promised to sign the legislation into law if it reached his desk – and “I promise you I will keep that promise.”

AFT President Randi Weingarten said Harris electrified the convention hall with her message about expanding the Middle Class and protecting hard-earned freedoms.

“The excitement she generates among our members, particularly among women and young people, is clear,” Weingarten said. “Today, they heard the vice president champion our public schools and economic opportunity, families, reproductive freedoms, safety from gun violence, the freedom to join a union, and a future in which every person has the opportunity not to just get by, but to thrive. And they are committed to pouring all of their energy into helping her make history as the first woman president.”

Other unions announcing early endorsements included the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA), United Steelworkers (USW) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU). (See AFL-CIO endorsement story on page 1 for other unions announcing their support.)

IBEW
IBEW International President Kenneth W. Cooper called Harris “a proven ally of the IBEW.”

“Working by President Biden’s side, she cast the deciding vote to save our pensions. Their administration created good union jobs through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the American Rescue Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.

“IBEW members know Vice President Harris and have engaged with her over the last four years as she’s visited our job sites, union halls and training facilities. She has listened to us, and we stand confident that she will continue this administration’s extraordinary record on behalf of working people when she is sworn into office next January.”

UFCW
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), representing 1.2 million essential workers in grocery, meatpacking, food processing, retail, and other essential industries, noted Harris “has always shown up for our members.”

“Whether it was during her time representing California in the U.S. Senate or as part of the most pro-union administration in modern American history, Vice President Harris has workers’ backs,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone.

“For years, Vice President Harris has shown a real willingness to listen to our members and working people everywhere about the issues that matter most to them. As a U.S. senator, she was a vocal supporter for essential worker protections during the pandemic. During her tenure as vice president, she was critical in the fight to lower prescription drugs and cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021, safeguarding the retirements of over 350,000 union workers.

“Working families deserve a presidential candidate that will put them first and the only candidate in this race who will do that is Vice President Harris,” Perrone said. “We look forward to working with our members across the country to elect her as our next president.”

LABORERS
Brent Booker, general president of the more than half-million strong Laborers’ International Union of North American, called Harris “The strong trailblazing leader America needs.”

“Vice President Harris has been a key partner in leading the most pro-union White House ever,” Booker said. “She played a critical role in advancing the biggest investment in our nation’s infrastructure in modern times, and in doing so is helping to create hundreds of thousands of good union jobs. She has been a trusted partner in bringing jobs back to the U.S. by reviving our manufacturing base. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, the Vice President has helped transform renewable energy jobs into family-supporting union jobs.  Vice President Harris, through her advocacy for the American Rescue Plan, helped save the hard-earned pensions of more than one million union workers and retirees, and she has pushed to lower prescription drug costs for all, especially retirees.

“Her forceful advocacy for unions as leader of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment underscores her commitment to working men and women and the power of unions to improve lives. Kamala Harris is the strong, trailblazing leader America needs.”

UNITED STEELWORKERS
“When our union endorses a candidate, we first and foremost consider their values, and even more importantly, how they put those values into action,” said USW International President David McCall. “And Vice President Harris is a crucial part of the most pro-Labor administration of our lifetimes, backing innumerable initiatives to help advance the interests of working families.”

SERVICE EMPLOYEES
“The most important thing for working people right now is uniting behind Vice President Harris, the candidate who can beat Donald Trump and finish the job that we started under the Biden-Harris administration,” said SEIU International President April Verrett.  “Working people are clear: Vice President Harris is the leader who has their back. SEIU is ALL IN for Kamala Harris.”

Other unions endorsing Harris last week included the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (ASCME), American Postal Workers Union (APWU), Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Communication Workers of America (CWA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), National Education Association (NEA), National Nurses United (NNU), National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), United Farm Workers (UFW), National Nurses United (NNU), and numerous other locals and state level federations.