By BERRY CRAIG
AFT Local 1360
We're going to keep updating this story with reactions to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's historic victory. Feel free to email us your thoughts at bcraig8960@gmail.com.
As we all know, the AFL-CIO endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket.
Jeff Wiggins, Kentucky State AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer
I'm looking forward to a president that will now make job one getting rid of this virus and job two building a better economy for working people.
Bill Finn, state director, Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council
I think everybody is ready for stability. I think middle class workers are going to be the big winner from this. Joe Biden is one of the strongest labor allies there ever was in the Senate, and we certainly believe he will be the same as president.
Donna Haynes, member, Kentucky State AFL-CIO Executive Board
I am so relieved after what we went through in the last four days. But we're going to have to fight twice as hard with McConnell still in. We've got to get those two Senate seats in Georgia. We need all of the unions to cut loose as many people as they can to help win those special elections.
Kyle Henderson, president Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council
This is a big win--a huge win--not just for labor, but for America. President-elect Biden will bring back respect and decency to the highest office in the land. I am also excited that we have made history by electing the first woman and the first person of color as vice president. I am happy I could be part of that.
J.W. Cleary, Paducah-McCracken County NAACP president and USW Local 550 retiree
I'm ecstatic. They were processing this thing, then we saw the handwriting on the wall, but it didn't happen until today. I'm glad it finally happened, but the race shouldn't have been as close.
Kirk Gillenwaters, president of the Kentucky Alliance of Retired Americans and a retired member of UAW Local 862.
We will be able to clear out the anti-union appointees in the labor cabinet, which will also help us gain back some of the protections we lost in the last four years. We know we will have a cabinet secretary who will look after the rights of working men and women.
Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO president
Democracy is prevailing. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ victory in this free and fair election is a win for America’s labor movement. Everywhere in every way, working people are heroically and resiliently fighting back against this pandemic, its economic fall out, chronic income inequality and systemic racism. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris saw us, heard us and campaigned on a promise that we, as one nation, will build back even better than before. That is why working people decisively rejected the politics of darkness and division and voted in record numbers for public servants who want to join us in writing America’s comeback story.
Let’s be clear: Union voters delivered this election for Biden and Harris. Their message and commitment to create “the most significant pro-labor, pro-worker administration” resonated with our 12.5 million members and 56 affiliated unions who are hungry for a bigger voice in our economy and our politics.
Now the AFL-CIO stands ready to help the president-elect and vice president-elect deliver a long overdue workers’ first agenda. That starts with passing the HEROES Act to provide our families and communities emergency support and services in the face of this deadly virus. But COVID-19 relief is just that—relief. Once working people are made whole, the real rebuilding can begin. We call on Congress to pass and Biden to sign the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act early in 2021 to make sure every worker who wants to form or join a union is able to do so freely and fairly. Working people want our leaders to act swiftly and think more boldly than ever before. The time to begin is now.
Congratulations to President-elect @JoeBiden and Vice President-elect @KamalaHarris. We will work with the incoming administration, as we have the current White House, to improve lives and opportunities for every Kentuckian.
Derrick Johnson, NAACP president and CEO
History has been made.
Joseph Biden has been elected as the 46th president of the United States of America along with Kamala Harris as his Vice President. For the first time in this nation’s history, a Black woman will be Vice President of the United States.
With a record breaking amount of ballots cast even before election day, and the highest overall turnout of our time, voters made their voice clear: A change is needed in this country, and it starts right now.
This election was never about any political party or candidate. This election was about the conscience of our nation. It was about sound governance from state to state that prioritized affordable health care, economic stability, quality education for their children, and wholesale relief from the pandemic and structural inequality after a year that nearly broke us.
Above all, this election was about people like you and me, and the power of our vote. When this country needed you the most, you showed up, and for that, you should be proud.
We must recognize the tireless efforts of so many—activists, leaders, organizers, but most importantly, voters. On both sides of the aisle, this election has shaken this country to the core, and proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that every ballot counts.
The presidential election may have concluded, but the real work has begun. We must continue to protect the integrity of our democracy, and hold any and all elected officials accountable to their constituents.
We must never stop fighting to make sure this democracy serves all of us.
Tom Conway, USW international president
The USW congratulates President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory in Tuesday’selection. We are hopeful that their administration will usher in a new era in Washington of leaders who don’t just talk about supporting working Americans, but who actually follow through with action.
The President-elect ran on a platform, which the USW supported, of containing the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring access to quality health care, getting our economy back on track and putting millions of Americans back to work. These must be the top priorities as the new administration transitions and prepares to take office in January.
In particular, the USW looks forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration on their plan to invest $1.3 trillion over 10 years to rebuild and modernize our crumbling infrastructure using American-made products. This comprehensive infrastructure plan is central to our economic recovery and must be a top priority for the newly elected president and Congress.
“We also are excited about the incoming administration’s stated goal of empowering workers and making it easier for them to form unions and bargain collectively with their employers. For too long, our leaders in Washington have sided with corporate America to silence workers’ voices. It’s time for a president who has workers’ backs and stands with the people on Main Street instead of Wall Street.
We know this has been a long and contentious election campaign, but we hope that Americans are ready for us all to move forward, together, to fight for the things all working people deserve: Good jobs, quality health care and a secure retirement.
Randi Weingarten, president, AFT
On behalf of the 1.7 million members of the AFT, our officers and our staff, we congratulate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on securing enough electoral votes to win the presidency and vice presidency. Joe and Kamala have vowed to repair our country’s deep pain and division and will govern tirelessly for all of us.
Today, America resumes the hard work of creating a more perfect union that helps everyone thrive, led by an effective, ethical and empathetic administration elected by more voters than any ticket in history. Under immense pressure, our democracy worked. The American people had their voices heard and their votes counted, and their will was clear and decisive.
Joe Biden is a person of great decency, strength, knowledge and compassion. He will deliver on his promise to make things better for those who struggle and strive, those who educate our children and care for our patients and our communities. He and Kamala will confront America’s crises and fight for the promise of a better future.
We look forward to working closely with an administration that will embrace and fight for the values we hold dear: justice and opportunity for all; strengthened public schools that work for all kids; economic security, starting with decent wages, good jobs and the right to a union; a belief in truth and science; and universal access to healthcare and college. We can’t wait to get started.
Lonnie R. Stephenson, IBEW international president
On behalf of the 775,000 active and retired members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, I congratulate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their victory.
This is not just a victory for the Biden/Harris ticket, but a win for all working people. The last four years have been some of the most challenging in recent American history. Incomes for working families remain stagnant while Wall Street continues to set record profits. The coronavirus pandemic has hit working-class Americans the hardest, but the current administration focused on bailing out the top one percent and slashing protections for working people instead of taking action to help America’s struggling middle class. Climate change continues to remain an existential threat, and the time to act is running out.
Joe Biden has won more votes than any presidential candidate in U.S. history. From the start of his campaign, he made it clear that his focus as president will be to rebuild America’s middle class and invest in an economy that works for everyone. America is ready to turn to the page and get to work building this nation back better.
I also want to thank all those IBEW members who worked so hard to make this victory possible. Joe Biden rebuilt the so-called blue wall with union labor. And we played a vital role in bringing out the vote in Arizona and Georgia as well. Thousands of IBEW members made phone calls, sent messages, and talked to their co-workers about what was at stake in this election and why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were the right choice for those who care about their jobs, their union, and their futures.
Joe Biden didn’t just make promises to labor. The power professionals of the IBEW had a seat at the table in Biden’s campaign from the beginning. That is why his energy platform is not only aggressive about combating climate change but is also committed to creating tens of thousands of good union jobs and building a 21st-century energy infrastructure.
I know the men and women of the IBEW will continue to have a seat at the table in a Biden/Harris administration as we bring Americans from all walks of life together to build a vibrant and growing economy that rewards work, not wealth, and lifts up all working families.