Liz Shuler, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), said that the Kamala Harris campaign failed to connect with low-income workers who are struggling and insecure in today’s economy. Democrats spoke of “accomplishments and track records” which was seen as a “disconnect” with the day-to-day experiences of many struggling families, reported British daily The Guardian on Nov. 16. The Harris campaign was “telling people versus listening,” according to another labor leader. Shuler said that, with inflation soaring, Trump came along with a very simple, but effective message: “Were you better off four years ago?” And a lot of people answered that question: “yes.” Harris had few personal ties to organized labor, and routinely used her running mate, Tim Walz, as the campaign’s spokesperson on labor issues.
The AFL-CIO is the nation’s largest labor federation of 60 national and international unions and represents 12.5 million workers in the U.S. Fully 70% of Americans support labor unions. The AFL-CIO actively campaigned for Harris and among households with at least one AFL-CIO member, Harris had a 17% lead on Election Day. However, several individual unions refused to endorse either major party candidate, such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (which is not part of the AFL-CIO), and the International Association of Fire Fighters (which is). The Teamsters has endorsed every Democrat for President since 2000, but in this election cycle Trump had an 8% lead over Harris from rank and file members, according to Politico. On the Teamster Board of Directors only three members voted to endorse Harris, and fourteen voted not to endorse anyone. In July Teamster President Sean O’Brien became the first IBT president to address a Republican Party convention.
