This story is part of the IDS’ national convention coverage. Follow reporter Andrew Miller on X and IDS social media for updates.
CHICAGO — After a jubilant opening to the Democratic National Convention on Monday, the stage pivoted to an issue and a key voting bloc crucial to the democrat’s political machine: organized labor.
Introduced by cheers of “union yes!” from the crowd, six of the nation’s largest labor union leaders took stage in a joint address soon after the convention started.
The leaders, representing millions of workers under the Service Employees International Union, the Communications Workers of America, the AFL-CIO and others, unanimously endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, seeing continuation of Biden’s pro-labor policies.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t trepidations among party officials. Notably absent from the stage of labor was the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
It’s a crucial moment for labor-focused democrats, who have garnered endorsements from most major unions except Teamsters — who have more than 1 million members and hold heavy political influence.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien even spoke at the Republican National Convention in July. He had asked to speak at both conventions, but is not slated to appear this week at the Democrat’s. The Teamsters endorsed Biden’s campaign in 2020, but have withheld thus far this year.
Past the Teamsters controversy, polling among union members is also showing declines in vote share going toward democrats. A group of union members polled by New York Times/Siena College that voted for Biden in 2020 by 8% were tied between Harris and Trump this year.
That’s crucial in many swing states which still have relatively high union membership, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada.
But many Teamsters members still said they support Harris’ campaign. They have echoed other union leaders who say that republicans — traditionally opposed to labor unions — would roll back prolific protections passed under Biden.
On the top of former Teamsters member Patrick Kelly’s mind outside the convention caucus on labor Monday was the Butch Lewis Act. That act, the White House said, protected more than 1 million union member’s pensions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kelly, who has worked union jobs across the country, said Biden has been stronger than all other democratic presidents on labor. He said that’s in part due to a strong National Labor Relations Board — a federal agency which holds elections for workers seeking to unionize, and protects them from unfair labor practices.
He also lauded Biden’s initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which he said have created thousands of union jobs.
Kelly supports Harris, and said she will continue Biden’s pro-labor policies. He said most Teamsters members will follow suit and vote for Harris.
“We’re not going to vote for the old president,” Kelly said. “As far as labor stuff, he couldn’t shine Biden’s shoes.”
Organized labor in the U.S. has struggled heavily in recent years, a trend Indiana has followed. Indiana once had a higher percentage of union workers than the national average — almost 16% in 2000 — union membership about halved to 8% in 2023.
But some democrats said hammering in on the issue could be key to winning states such as Indiana, which has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Barack Obama in 2008.
Speaking at the convention caucus on labor, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a democrat, said others could replicate his model of winning traditionally republican states by focusing on pro-union policy. Trump won Kentucky in 2020 by 26%. Beshear, once a contender to become Harris’s vice presidential candidate, won by 5% in 2022.
“Good things happen when you have pro-Union leadership,” Beshear said.
— Andrew Miller covers politics and elections for the Indiana Daily Student. Contact him at ami3@iu.edu, or direct message via X.
