AFL-CIO President Shuler: ‘The Road to the White House Runs Through America’s Union Halls’

In her second annual Labor Day speech, President Shuler highlighted the crucial role that the labor movement is playing in electing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz

Washington, D.C.—As Labor Day and the final sprint to November approaches, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler outlined the strides America’s unions are making in building an economy that works for all and established the unique, decisive role union voters will play in the election in her second annual “State of the Unions” speech today.

President Shuler highlighted key factors that will make the labor movement critical in this election:

• The Blue Wall is built by unions. One in five voters in the battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota is a union voter, which includes active members, retirees and members of the AFL-CIO community affiliate Working America. In the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, that number is even higher, at 22%. 
• With commensurately high enthusiasm, union voters will be the difference makers in these and other battleground states. Recent polling shows that Kamala Harris is up by 15 points among union voters. 

“Union workers are growing our power in this country in a way that we haven’t seen in a generation. In November, that power could win the election for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO. “We can run up the margins in where it counts, we have built an organizing machine that can mobilize on a dime, and we have built a singular trust and connection with workers, families and neighbors. When you ask a union member who their most trusted source in the world is on politics, it’s not their friends, family or loved ones—it’s their fellow union member. There is no question that the road to the White House runs through America’s union halls.”

In the final 10 weeks of the 2024 cycle, the AFL-CIO is conducting its largest-ever voter mobilization in support of Harris and Walz. The program includes hundreds of thousands of volunteer shifts to contact millions of battleground state voters and engage workers on the job sites. Earlier this year, the AFL-CIO launched a comprehensive online guide on how Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda would decimate workers’ rights, benefits and freedoms, as well as a primer on Harris’ history of fighting for working people.

“The future and success of America hinges on the future and success of the labor movement—and no hinge is bigger than the one on the door marked Nov. 5,” said Fred Redmond, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. “The union vote is going to make the difference. And the American labor movement is going to move heaven and earth to help every pro-worker candidate up and down the ballot win this November.”

“Educators know that when we stand together, we have the power to make a real difference in the lives of our students and families,” said David Walrod, president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, who was featured in today’s event. “In June, we won a union for 27,500 educators in the largest school district in Virginia. As a result of this historic victory, educators now have a stronger voice as we work together with parents to provide a world-class education for our students that offers opportunity and strengthens our community. Educator working conditions are student learning conditions!”

President Shuler’s remarks as prepared for the “State of the Unions” can be viewed here.