August 6, 2024

Today, following Vice President Kamala Harris’ selection of Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, the AFL-CIO announced our enthusiastic support for the Harris–Walz ticket.

“By selecting Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Kamala Harris chose a principled fighter and labor champion  who will stand up for working people and strengthen this historic ticket,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “We know that Gov. Walz will be a strong partner in the Harris White House, fighting every day to improve the lives of workers in communities across America. Gov. Walz isn’t only an ally to the labor movement, but also our union brother with a deep commitment to a pro-worker agenda. 

“The labor movement stands united behind the Harris–Walz ticket, and we are ready to help lead the effort to defeat Donald Trump, JD Vance, and their anti-worker Project 2025 agenda in November.” 

Background: 

Gov. Tim Walz is a former public school teacher and union member who has proven that a pro-worker agenda is a winning agenda, especially in competitive states. He has delivered on a comprehensive, pro-union legislative package and created the gold standard for state governments aiming to do right by workers. 

We know Walz will deliver for working people across the country as vice president, just as he has throughout his career. Gov. Walz has enacted some of the most pro-worker packages of legislation of any state in the country, including laws to: 

• Guarantee paid family and medical leave and mandate paid sick days.
• Prohibit noncompete clauses.
• Bar employers from holding anti-union captive audience meetings.
• Strengthen protections for meatpacking workers and Amazon warehouse employees. 
• Strengthen the collective bargaining power of teachers’ unions, including allowing bargaining over educator-to-student classroom ratios. 
• Create a statewide council to improve conditions for nursing home workers. (The Guardian, 6/7/23 and Minnesota Reformer, 5/17/23)

Gov. Walz also has:

• Reached a historic deal with Uber and Lyft that amounts to a 20% increase in driver pay and provides statewide wage and worker standards, even in the face of threats from Uber and Lyft to end service in Minnesota.
• Invested $2.6 billion in much-needed infrastructure projects that create good, family-supporting jobs that pay prevailing wages.
• Issued Executive Order 23-07, which established the Governor’s Committee on the Compensation, Wellbeing, and Fair Treatment of Transportation Network Company Drivers.

Contact: Steve Smith, 202-637-50

"On behalf of the members of the CLUW, we commend President Joe Biden for his lifelong commitment to women’s rights and workers’ rights. We respect his decision not to run for re-election, and thank him for his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for the next President of the United States. 

We thank you, President Biden, and continue to offer our prayers and meditations as you finish out your historic presidency."

Elise Bryant, CLUW President

Statement from AFL-CIO Officers on President Biden’s Announcement

July 21, 2024

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond issued the following statement:

There has been no greater champion in the White House for America’s workers than President Joe Biden. He has had workers’ backs every day of his presidency, constantly pushing his administration to use every tool in its toolbox to create and protect our jobs, defend our rights in the workplace, and invest in our economic security.

President Biden’s legacy as the most pro-labor president in history, and that of the Biden–Harris White House, is indisputable. The president led the passage of landmark legislation, which rescued our economy from the brink of another depression, brought manufacturing jobs back to America and put us on the pathway to create millions of good-paying union jobs. He ensured a pro-labor National Labor Relations Board that has defended workers’ rights and held bad bosses accountable, including corporate CEOs. He has pressed for labor standards in every federal investment and raised the wages of hundreds of thousands of federal contractors, raising the tide for fair pay for working people across the country.

Vice President Kamala Harris has been an integral part of that success. She cast the tie-breaking votes to save the pensions of more than 1 million union members and retirees, expand the child tax credit to help millions of struggling families, and take on big pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of key prescriptions like insulin. She is a defender of civil rights and reproductive freedom and a proven partner in the administration’s pro-worker agenda.

This is why the AFL-CIO unequivocally supported Biden–Harris for re-election earlier than any other presidential endorsement in our history. And it is why, with our deepest gratitude and respect, we honor President Biden’s choice to not run for re-election. 

The AFL-CIO’s officers and leadership from the federation’s 60 affiliated unions, representing more than 12.5 million workers, will convene soon to discuss our next steps.

Candidates may change, but our values don’t. Our fight to create an economy where everyone has a fighting chance and a country where working people not only survive but thrive will never stop. Our solidarity with workers as we organize and bargain for the pay, benefits, and safety we deserve will never waver. And our commitment to defeating Donald Trump and JD Vance is as strong as ever.