Union members aren’t just voting on labor this year

Francine Eason and Andrew Gangwer are both union members, and affordable pricing is key to each of them. But he is voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, and he supports former President Donald Trump.

Eason has been working as a housekeeper at a Philadelphia hotel owned by UNITE HERE Local 274 for five years. Gangwer is a 10-year team player in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, working as an operations specialist at Anheuser-Busch.

“They’re the ones who pay me every week when they talk about boosting the economy through corporations,” Gangver, 50, a registered independent, said of the Republicans’ pro-business messaging. “It gives me an opportunity to fight for a better deal next time because we can say, ‘Hey, look at this record revenue you made.'”

Although union membership has continued to decline in recent years, first the Biden-Harris administration and then the Harris campaign pushed to strengthen the influence of organized labor and Democratic support in its ranks. But views like Gangwer’s show may have limitations to this effort.

Harris took aim “excess” corporate profits and moved forward a more blue-collar ticketwhose opponent is looking to fend off drove away more union voters a Democratic-leaning part of the electorate from the rest. Trump lost working families just 8 percentage points After President Barack Obama in 2016 He won by 18 points four years ago — still higher than Biden’s improvement 16 point difference With union voters in 2020.

“Trump took advantage of that open door,” said Tobias Higbie, a professor of history and labor studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, referring to Democratic policies that included free trade and light regulation at a time when unions were weak. Although Labor has flexed more political muscle of late, it remains a heterogeneous group. 14.4 million people all go to the ballot box with a number of interests and occupations.

“The idea that the working class is naturally united is wrong,” Higbie said.

Harris secured the task force’s approval AFL-CIO for National Education Associationand repeats his belief on the trail “When unions are strong, America is strong.” Meanwhile, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien also spoke Republican National Convention last month had previously praised Trump as “tough.” “economic terrorism” his final proposal is to fire workers for organizing. His running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, visited United Auto Workers picket Last fall, shortly after President Joe Biden did the same.

Eason, a Democrat, does not vote strictly as a union member. Other major concerns include gun violence, which he says is “out of control.” in Philadelphia despite seeing the steepest drop in incidents in any major U.S. city this year after a record surge during the pandemic.

But labor issues matter to Eason, who has worked in the hospitality industry for 15 years but only five as a union member. He said he saw a difference in pay and treatment compared to nearby non-union colleagues, and that being in a union gave him confidence.

“I have a big mouth at the hotel I’m working at now,” he said. “I’m not afraid to fight a boss who doesn’t treat us fairly.”

He believes Harris can help him and his union members, calling the Democratic candidate the “breath of fresh air” he and his UNITE HERE colleagues have been looking for.

Gangwer, meanwhile, said he was struggling with recent inflation. He pushed the “to-dos” at homesuch as partial roof replacement because it is very expensive. His coworkers have been more inclined to vote Republican in recent years, he said, citing the party’s commitment to tax cuts and emphasis on law and order.

Jeff Egkan also saw his colleagues warming to conservative candidates. But the retired Teamster, who worked for UPS for 33 years in San Diego County, Calif., said he was not convinced by the Republican speech. Egkan is a Democrat who plans to vote for Harris, and he worries that Trump’s rhetoric against union voters is not genuine.

“I haven’t seen any concrete promises from President Trump,” he said. “I have seen specific promises from Vice President Harris. He said he would sign the PRO Act,” he said Democratic bill it would strengthen workers’ rights to organize and increase penalties against employers who violate them.

Cecilia Ortiz plans to endorse Harris in 2020 after first voting for Biden. Ortiz, 43, is a lead passenger service agent at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and a member of SEIU’s Airport Workers United, and has expressed frustration with Trump’s tenure. “He was more about himself,” she said. “He doesn’t talk about politics.”

Since then, she has remained engaged. Last year he participated in the organization Arizona has raised safety concerns for more protection for workers working in the rising heat and forced the aviation industry to adapt. Phoenix walked past an employee thermal protection rule earlier this year.

“Kamala and Tim Walz,” Ortiz said, “are big supporters of investing in good union jobs, and that’s what we need in Arizona,” pointing to Harris’ union colleague. A public school teacher in Minnesota before becoming governor. Ortiz added that protecting access to abortion is also a top issue for him, weighing on Arizonans referendum on the issue this fall.

Dahlia Saba, Ph.D., Electrical Engineering. The University of Wisconsin-Madison student is undecided, but not sure whether to vote for Harris. His main issue is the war in Gaza. Saba had family members in the area who were able to evacuate earlier this year and are frustrated with the Biden-Harris administration. solid support for Israel.

“It’s a decision I don’t take lightly,” said Saba, who belongs to the Association of Teaching Assistants, the nation’s oldest graduate student union.

Graduate student staff strength it often fluctuates Depending on who is in the White House determination of labor policy. But for Saba, he said, supporting members of the current administration amid the civilian bloodshed and suffering in Gaza “would be a sign that this is something Democrats can handle in the future.”

There are signs Democrats may be able to overcome some of those cracks, experts say.

“The labor movement has become more active since the pandemic,” Higbie said. “there was”Striketober‘ [and] ‘Hot Labor Summer.’ … When you have a lot of activity like that, it changes the political dynamic.” A more active labor movement could get rank-and-file members to vote again as union leadership, he added.

But not for Gangwer. If anything, Labour’s latest show of strength puts some pressure on it when it has to defend itself at the ballot box.

“They can’t bust unions,” he said. “So we are not afraid of it. It is almost impossible.”