'Get in the trenches': Labor strategist debunks claim of 'long-term conservative shift' among unions

03 December 2024

When Teamsters President Sean O'Brien spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, some right-wing media outlets painted the speech as an example of unions moving from the Democratic Party to the GOP.

But O'Brien didn't endorse Donald Trump during his speech. The Teamsters president, rather, kept his speech nonpartisan, making general comments about the struggles of the American working class.

In an interview with Capitol & Maine's Kalena Thomhave, former AFL-CIO Political Director Steve Rosenthal debunked the claim that unions are abandoning the Democratic Party for the GOP in huge numbers. This "long-term conservative shift," according to Rosenthal, is a myth.

Rosenthal, during the interview, stressed that Vice President Kamala Harris received more union support than Trump.

"First off, union members voted for Harris in pretty strong numbers," Rosenthal told Capitol & Maine. "Across the three Blue Wall states, (there was a) significant performance by union members. In Pennsylvania, union members made up 18 percent of the electorate. So, almost one out of five votes cast came from union households, and they voted 52 to 47 for Harris, which is better than the (Joe) Biden vote was in 2020, (when) Biden lost union households to Trump 49 to 50 in Pennsylvania. So, she actually did better."

Rosenthal elaborated, "In Wisconsin, Kamala Harris won union voters 53 to 46 — better than (Hillary) Clinton did in 2016 and not quite as good as Biden did in 2020, but still a nine-point margin among union voters in the state. In Michigan, Harris won (union voters) 55 to 44 — not quite as good as Biden did in 2020, but much better than Clinton in 2016."

According to Rosenthal, Trump has "eroded the union vote a little bit" but "not in substantial numbers."

However, the former AFL-CIO political director emphasized that Democrats will need to articulate a strong economic message in future elections.

Rosenthal told Capitol & Maine, "There's an element there about the message and the messenger. It's not that the (Democratic) Party doesn't stand for workers anymore; it's that the party leadership is not getting in the trenches with workers anymore. Their accomplishments are partially paid short shrift because there's a huge degree of cynicism overall about both parties and politics in general…. There's a distinction between what the party is doing and fighting for and what people feel and see and understand."

Rosenthal continued, "Biden was, by all accounts, the most pro-union president in our lifetimes. It must be incredibly insulting to President Biden, Vice President Harris (and others in the administration), who have done so much over the last few years for unions and workers, to be hearing that the party has abandoned them."

Read Capitol & Maine's full interview with Steve Rosenthal at this link.

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