It was the perfect place to welcome the endorsement of the firefighters union — a gleaming new firehouse in a blue-collar town just outside of Detroit in the key battleground state of Michigan.
But by the time Kamala Harris showed up in Redford Township on Friday, there was no endorsement waiting for her.
By a slim margin, the International Association of Firefighters declined to back any candidate, a reminder of the Democratic nominee’s struggle to lock down the same support from organized labor that President Joe Biden won four years ago. The Teamsters also balked at an endorsement last month.
Harris is still gaining more endorsements than she’s losing. National teachers unions, building trade unions, the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers backed the vice president shortly after Biden ended his run for a second term. And the leader of the Michigan firefighters union, Matthew Sahr, showed up for Harris in Redford Township — although not to bestow the endorsement.
"We could have chosen to stay away. But what kind of message would that send?” Sahr said.
A spokesman for the union declined Friday to comment beyond a previously released statement that said there would be no endorsement for Harris or her opponent, former President Donald Trump.
“The vice president is proud to have the support of organized labor, including firefighters across key battlegrounds like those who joined her in Michigan Friday,” said Harris campaign spokesman Brian Fallon. “She is the only candidate in this race who always stands with workers and has fought to protect overtime pay, worker pensions, and the right to organize.”
What unfolded nonetheless reflects the shifting loyalties in American politics as Harris vies with Trump for support among working-class voters who for years could be more solidly counted on to support Democrats.
Still, Harris didn't mince words when she spoke at the firehouse, saying Trump "has been a union-buster his entire career” and would launch a “full-on attack” against organized labor.
Harris said Trump supports “right-to-work” laws that often make it more difficult to unionize, and said he had weakened federal employees’ unions. While he was president, Trump used a series of 2018 executive orders designed to reduce those unions’ powers to collectively bargain.
He has expressed support for right-to-work since his initial run for president in 2016 — while also making comments more generally supportive of labor rights when speaking to union audiences since then.
Harris also accused the former president of “making the same empty promises to the people of Michigan that he did before, hoping you will forget how he let you down.”
Her remarks followed U.S. dockworkers suspending their strike in hopes of reaching a new contract, sparing the country a damaging episode of labor unrest that could have rattled the economy. A tentative agreement that has been hailed by Harris was reached to raise salaries, although other issues still need to be resolved.
The vice president later addressed an evening rally in Flint, saying that, unlike what Trump says about the Biden administration's rules on electric vehicles, “I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive.”
“But here’s what I will do, I will invest in communities like Flint,” she said.
Harris also criticized Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, after Vance, while campaigning in Michigan on Wednesday, refused to commit to continue federal support going to a GM plant in Lansing, Michigan's state capital.
“Donald Trump's running mate suggested that if Trump wins, he might let the Grand River Assembly Plant in Lansing close down,” Harris said as the crowd booed.
She said that, by contrast, the Biden administration had fought to keep the plant open, adding, “Michigan, we, together, fought hard for those jobs and you deserve a president who won't put them at risk.”
Questions remain, though, about whether Harris can cement backing from most rank-and-file union members.
Justin Pomerville, the business manager at UA Local 85 in Michigan, said 70% of his members’ work hours are tied to the CHIPS and Science Act, which the Biden administration championed and pumped billions of dollars into semiconductor manufacturing.
The workers lay complex networks of pipes that carry exhaust, water and chemicals through high-tech facilities. However, Pomerville said some members aren’t aware of the connection between their jobs and the legislation.
“Unless someone tells them they’re working because of that, they don’t know,” he said.
The Democrats, meanwhile, have increased their support among white-collar professionals while Republicans try to make inroads among voters who didn’t attend college.
During a rally in Saginaw, Michigan, on Thursday, Trump said Republicans are now “the party of the American worker,” glossing over his anti-union record as president.
The former president also made a trip to Flint last month in an event billed as focusing on the auto industry, a pillar of the battleground state. The two candidates have been in the same cities — and in some cases the exact same venues — within days or weeks of each other.
Pomerville, who is also president of the Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council, said, “We’re voting our pocketbooks" and “It’s got to be our job to get that message out.”
But he warned that “Trump has done an amazing job at marketing false facts” and his message is resonating with some of the union members.
”It’s particularly potent with men who appreciate his anti-establishment message and are exhausted by politics in general," said Pomerville, who added that when people try to talk about the election with them, “you can watch some of their walls go up.”
Trump spent Friday in Georgia with Gov. Brian Kemp, the latest sign that he's patched up his rocky relationship with the top Republican in a key battleground state. The former president and the governor appeared in Evans, Georgia, standing before pallets of goods including bottled water, diapers and paper towels.
“I have no doubt that whatever can be done is going to be done," Trump said. "It’s a lot of effort. It’s a very heartbreaking situation.”
Later in the day, he held a campaign event in Fayetteville in another storm-ravaged state, North Carolina.
Union voters have traditionally leaned toward Democrats, with 56% supporting Biden in 2020. But Trump has pushed hard to win over blue-collar workers traditionally represented by some of the biggest unions. He won 62% of white voters without college degrees — though only 24% of non-white voters without college degrees — in 2020.
It’s frustrating for Democrats, who point to the country's strong labor market — 254,000 jobs were added in September, more than expected — and the White House’s firm support for unions. Biden even joined a UAW picket line last year.
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20 Comments
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PTownsend
Trump similar to many other in the elite establishment billionaire caste has zero regard for workers. He has a history of not paying even his professional office employees, if he's back in office, look for him and the corrupt Supreme Court to further weaken worker's rights, while expecting the middle and working classes to pay higher taxes, so Trump's fellow entitled rich pay even less. Trump prides himself on getting lower economic caste people to send him tithes so he can maintain a lifestyle of the rich and famous, and getting them to buy his bibles and sneakers. He preys on the poorly educated while sneering at them.
Banthu
In the 2020 election, Biden voters held 70% of the country's wealth and Trump voters only held 30%.
The left are the rich and elite city dwellers.
The right are the poor working class and small town farmers.
Strangerland
You got that backwards. Trump voters held 70% of the wealth not Biden voters.
dagon
'Right-to-work ' is so Orwellian newspeak, it removed labor protections and gave them a race to the bottom.
By Trump's comments with Musk you can see his attitudes have not really changed; all he will do is blame immigrants again in his appeal to workers.
Harris has to address threats to workers like AI automation which is already costing jobs both to blue and white collar workers.
Strangerland
Trump respects union busters like Musk. They are both very anti union.
John
Trump is a union busting scab who put non-union, non-autoworkers to an “autoworkers for Trump” photo-op while Biden walked the picket lines.
Trump was hoping that Biden would either force dock workers back to work or endure a prolonged port closure right before an election.
He got neither. The administration stood with workers and they negotiated a historic deal AND the ports stay open.
There’s no labor reason for any union member to vote for a scab like Trump. But there’s a lot of reasons for xenophobic racists, who happen to be union members, to do so.
Strangerland
Amazing jobs numbers for the Harris campaign in September.
Unlike Trump who lost over a million jobs in his tenure, the Harris administration just keeps on employing people. More than any other administration ever!
dagon
He knows what he is talking about.
Trump didn't even pay the many contractors and workers who built his casino.
https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/columnists/mike-kelly/2020/01/24/donald-trump-still-owes-money-to-contractors-who-built-taj-mahal-atlantic-city/4547037002/
Steve Jenkins says he does not plan to show up at President Donald Trump’s rally next week in Wildwood.
But if he made the trek from his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Jenkins would bring a bill — for the tens of thousands of dollars he says Trump still owes him.
Blacklabel
Kamala sure being rejected by a lot of reliably automatic Democrat endorsing groups.
doing historic level of bad with Black and Hispanic voters as well as union workers.
election gonna “surprise” some of you by how poorly she will do.
Blacklabel
yeah amazing job numbers! Lol
that will be revised downward next month like they always are.
then those revised monthly numbers are revised down again on a yearly basis.
816,000 jobs were faked in the numbers just recently.
Bad Haircut
Hah. The Democrats have been taking the unions' support for granted for decades while doing nothing to stem the loss of jobs and wealth abroad. So now even they've had enough and are refusing to endorse a candidate who's clearly an utter dud.
Strangerland
Is that your excuse for trump losing over a million jobs?
John
The jobs numbers are frequently revised. His are still strong and positive in comparison to Trump who lost more jobs in a single term than any president in history.
Strangerland
So we went from Trump, the bigger loser in history, to Harris, the bigger job getter in history.
Crazy differential.
John
Theres no evidence of this. It’s just copium for cultists.
Strangerland
MAGA makes things up. Fox and Trump taught them it’s ok.
bass4funk
More lib excuse, the man, one man is not hindering anyone
Brian Kemp says he “was outraged,” and had to call the White House after only 11 of the 90 counties hit were included in the FEMA disaster declaration — rural counties neglected. Far bigger scandal than Katrina.
Seems like the public is not happy, a little too late.
I'm sorry, but what does this have to do with Biden not pushing to get FEMA, the National Guard or anyone government agency to the area as fast as possible, If Elon Musk can do something or some of the other celebs the President can do something as well, anything else is just an excuse or just the typical lib whine " I hate Trump"
That would be the Democrats, remember, the middle class is the ones that are overwhelmingly leaving the high-taxed Blue States.
Hardly, by the way, most of them are supporting Harris ironically.
Nothing could be further from the truth and let's not forget, and remember, the Dems never cared about the poor, just look at the minority communities they preside over, their policies historically past, and present are making them vote for Trump educated or not, they are still voters and every vote counts, every single one, the Dems don't want or care about them, that helps Trump
ulysses
That’s so funny sir!
Sir, you can predict the future, I am sure some of the job numbers are from fake businesses like yours
Yes sir people claiming to own fake businesses is a serious issue
I am sure at least 10,000 were from your business!!!
ulysses
Apology accepted sir!!
That’s what I too ask sir, President Biden is pushing for faster relief and donald is just lying about it!!
Yes sir, the MAGA always whine I love Biden, there is no love like MAGA love!!!
plasticmonkey
No, it’s not. And what does your “libs libs libs” rant have to do with this story about LABOR?
bass4funk
It absolutely is. Not sure what you are reading, but Katrina dwarfs in comparison given the circumstances.