The recent death of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka could change the trajectory of union politics as new leadership takes a long hard look at how Joe Biden and other Democrats they endorse decimate their ranks.
Trumka reportedly served 12 years as the country’s largest private-sector union boss and never wavered in his support of Democrat presidential candidates. Persuading his rank-and-file to, again, back a party most known for liberal extremists came as something of a surprise during the run-up to the 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump had energized the economy. His America First policies expanded job opportunities, wages were rising, and the tariff war with China was slowly helping to restore U.S.-based manufacturing.
All of these and other trends proved beneficial to working Americans and union members. What was even more astonishing when Trumka swayed the AFL-CIO to the left was that Trump’s policies led to the first major growth spurt in union membership in more than a decade. Despite the wins, Joe Biden received the endorsement.
“The path to the presidency runs through the labor movement,” Trumka reportedly said. “And with the full force and unmatched reach of our political program, we are ready to pave that road for our friend Joe Biden.”
Union participation declined by more than 50 percent from 1983 to 2019 before the Trump Administration changed the country’s economic and trade policies. All those gains and more were lost within the first six months of Joe Biden moving into the White House. What private-sector unions may be missing is that Democrats are pro-union, but only public-sector ones such as teachers and firefighters because they can control the purse strings.
The Teamster Union also endorsed Biden, despite the fact Trump ranked among the most pro-trucker presidents ever to hold office. The Trump Administration tapped the brakes on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) imposing Obama-era regulations that would negatively impact trucker’s earnings. Despite the tangible gains in terms of truck driver wages and administrative support, Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa Jr. steered the union into Biden’s corner.
“Biden, the Democratic Party nominee, has proposed a bold plan to protect the interests of hardworking Americans going forward, one that prioritizes collective bargaining, worker organizing, and unions,” a Teamster endorsement states. “It calls for workers to be treated with dignity and receive the pay, benefits, and workplace protections they deserve.”
Since taking office, the Biden Administration has shut down major projects such as the XL Keystone Pipeline and border wall construction, sending Teamster members to the unemployment lines. Hardy the “dignity” and “protections they deserve.”
Given the losses union members suffered at the hands of Democrat presidents such as Obama, who waged war on coal miners, truckers, and automotive workers, it appears counterproductive for these major unions bosses to keep supporting Democrats. Perhaps the linchpin that indicates a betrayal at the political level stems from the United Mine Workers of America backing a Green New Deal that admittedly will cost people their jobs.
While private-sector labor unions allow workers to stand together and negotiate living wages, their political leaders have a long history of corruption and backroom deal-making. As a result, union workers are already worse off than they were during the Trump years, and that begs serious questions. Have union bosses betrayed workers? And, what are working families going to do about it heading into the 2022 and 2024 elections?
