AFL-CIO sends us more proof that Donald Trump is a union-buster--more's on the way
By BERRY CRAIG
Alliance for Retired Americans
The Kentucky State AFL-CIO made history on Jan. 11, 2023, by endorsing Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman for a second term. Never before had the state’s largest labor organization backed candidates so soon in an election cycle. (The federation endorsed the Beshear-Coleman team after the May, 2019, Democratic primary.)
“The Kentucky State AFL-CIO is making this historic early endorsement of Gov. Andy Beshear to signify our commitment to re-elect Andy Beshear and demonstrate our resolve to keep Kentuckians safe from the false and harmful policies of our opponents,” said a statement from then Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan.
Why so early? Simple. Beshear was demonstrably pro-union. His Republican opponent, Attorney Gen. Daniel Cameron was irrefutably anti-union.
Last June 16, the national AFL-CIO voted to endorse President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for re-election this year. "The endorsement vote marks the earliest the AFL-CIO has ever voted to endorse in a presidential election," said an AFL-CIO news release. (The national federation endorsed the Biden-Harris team in 2020.)
Why so early? Again, it's simple. Biden is provably the most pro-union president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat. Trump is undeniably the most anti-union president since Herbert Hoover, the Republican FDR beat in 1932. Click here, here and here.
“There’s absolutely no question that Joe Biden is the most pro-union president in our lifetimes,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said of the endorsement. “From bringing manufacturing jobs home to America to protecting our pensions and making historic investments in infrastructure, clean energy and education, we’ve never seen a president work so tirelessly to rebuild our economy from the bottom up and middle out. We’ve never seen a president more forcefully advocate for workers’ fundamental right to join a union. Now, it’s time to finish the job. The largest labor mobilization in history begins today, supercharged by the excitement and enthusiasm of hundreds of thousands of union volunteers who will work tirelessly to re-elect a president they know has our backs and will always fight for us.”
The AFL-CIO is out with more proof that while Trump was president, he eagerly embraced the GOP's long holy war against organized labor. Titled "WAYS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MADE YOU LESS SAFE AT WORK," it's a post on X (formerly twitter). We thank the AFL-CIO's Kenneth Quinnell for emailing us the link: https://twitter.com/AFLCIO/status/1747289485543461184
"More to come later," Quinnell promised in his email. We're looking forward to it.