Yahoo Finance 4 Reasons a Kamala Harris Presidency Could Be Bad for Union Workers
As presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris has been garnering the support of unions. The AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest union, unanimously endorsed Harris, calling her “a true partner in leading the most pro-labor administration in history,” according to a press release on the AFL-CIO website.
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In large part, Harris’ has gained the support of unions by serving with Biden, who has been viewed as the most pro-union president in history, even walking picket lines with United Auto Workers union members. But where does Harris stand when it comes to unions, independent of Biden’s influence?
A few unions, including the Teamsters, have held out on endorsing Harris. Why are they hesitant? Could a Kamala Harris presidency really be bad for unions? Here are three reasons to consider.
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She Might Choose Mark Kelly as Her Running Mate
Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona is one of Harris’ picks for Vice President. At press time, she has not chosen a running mate. But if she chooses Kelly, her support of unions might be diminished. Kelly is one of only three Democrats who failed to vote for the PRO Act. This bill seeks to protect the rights of American workers to organize in a union.
“The Democrats cannot have someone on the ticket who is identified as soft on labor,” one union president, who asked to remain anonymous, told ABC News. “This is a huge problem.”
Unions Feel Rushed to Endorse Harris
With roughly 90 days left until the election, some union members voiced concerns that Biden’s decision to withdraw with so little time left to campaign or to give union leaders a chance to contemplate Harris as a nominee. “I don’t have a relationship with her,” John Samuelsen, president of the Transport Workers Union, told ABC News. “I got to know Biden pretty well. I have faith in Biden that he wouldn’t screw transport sector workers. At this point, workers have been betrayed so many times by both parties that it doesn’t make any sense not to be as prudent as possible.”
Teamsters Holding Out on an Endorsement
Likewise, the Teamsters, a 1.3-million member union led by President Sean O’Brien, has yet to endorse Harris. O’Brien spoke at a Republican rally, but received a lukewarm reception. The Teamsters invited Harris to speak in a roundtable discussion before the union makes a decision on which candidate to endorse. The Teamsters heard from both Republican candidate Donald Trump and from President Joe Biden in similar roundtable talks. Harris’ stance on topics such as the struggles of American’s middle class workers, corporate bankruptcy reform, antitrust enforcement in the warehouse and package delivery industries, as well as freedoms to form or join unions will play into the Teamsters’ decision on which candidate to endorse, according to a letter posted by Politico.com addressed to Harris from O’Brien.
O’Brien recently praised Republican Vice Presidential nominee, J.D. Vance, telling Fox News, “JD Vance, the short time that we’ve worked together, he’s been great on Teamster issues.”
Police Unions Haven’t Endorsed Harris
Although many unions support and endorse Harris, one group is not unanimously in support of the Democratic candidate: police unions. In 2020, Trump garnered the support of many police officer unions, including the Police Benevolent Association and the Fraternal Order of Police. While Trump has only received endorsements from a handful of police unions to date, Harris’ statement to “defund police” in a 2020 radio interview could come back to haunt her when it comes to gaining police union support. In the radio interview, Harris said, “This whole movement is about rightly saying, we need to take a look at these budgets and figure out whether it reflects the right priorities.” Since that interview, she “rarely if at all” mentioned the movement, according to CNN.com.
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In general, it seems a Harris presidency would be good for labor unions, but this might hinge upon her choice for vice president and her stance on police funding.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. For more coverage on this topic, please check out 4 Reasons Kamala Harris Could Be Good for Union Workers.
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