As the US elections approach, union members are knocking on millions of doors in swing states across America in a last-ditch effort to defeat the election for Kamala Harris.
Joe Biden labeled himself the most pro-union president ever. Now his successor hopes that the full support of organized labor can get her bid across the line. But in a divided America, the labor movement is also divided.
Tim Freeman, a hotel worker and member of Unite Here in Philadelphia, has been knocking on Democrats’ doors since 2020 when he spoke out in support of the Biden campaign.
“It opened my eyes to seeing what’s important, not just about voting, but about the issues, and then connecting with voters,” Freeman said.
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Unite Here, the union for hospitality and food service workers, is running the largest independent, labor-led field program in the U.S. in the 2024 elections, with activities focused on the swing states of Pennsylvania, Arizona Nevada and seven other states.
Recent polls show Pennsylvania and Nevada as the toss-up states, favoring Democrats by a narrow margin, while Arizona currently leans slightly in favor of Republicans.
Freeman argued that Kamala Harris was the best candidate for union members as she supports and has fought for workers’ rights, compared to Trump, who has opposed unions and efforts to strengthen workers’ rights.
“Our trade union rights are certainly under attack, but not just trade union rights. All of our rights are under attack,” Freeman said. “We cannot let this man back in power.”
Talking to voters in person so they don’t have to rely on television ads or campaign rhetoric was important, he said.
“You can see someone right here in your space, at your door, share your story with them and see what we have in common,” Freeman added. “Power is in numbers and the more you collect, collect and provide information to people to let them know, this is what we are here for and this is why we create canvases. Some days are harder than others, but we are taking a good step forward and doing that work.”
Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Unite Here conducted a similar door-knocking campaign. The union claimed it had mobilized more than 440,000 irregular voters to vote for Biden in Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania, including 125,000 voters who had not voted in 2016. The union knocked on 3 million doors during the 2020 election cycle.
The union has already knocked on more than 3 million doors this election year, with a goal of 3.5 million doors in 10 key election battleground states in support of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Democratic Senate candidates and local elected officials.
“There is so much noise during the elections. To get a voter to the door you have to be able to connect with them quickly, and I think our members are particularly positioned to do that,” said Gwen Mills, President of Unite Here. who designed the union’s Take Back 2020 campaign.
“We don’t follow polls. We’re just focused on how many doors we can knock on and how many conversations we can have with a voter who may feel disaffected because their vote doesn’t matter, or who may still be struggling with issues and not knowing where these two candidates are. ”
Unite Here noted that the number of these voters exceeded Biden’s margin of victory in Nevada and Arizona.
“Essentially it comes down to: are we going to go on the offensive and continue to build the labor movement, or are we going to go on the defensive, defending against a central attack,” Mills added. “We believe without a doubt that the volume and quality of these conversations could influence the outcome of the election.”
The union has also made significant efforts to support voter turnout in the 2021 and 2022 Senate elections in Georgia, and in the 2023 Senate and House elections in Virginia.
According to 2023 Pew Research Center data, 59% of union members lean Democratic, while 39% lean Republican — a large enough percentage to make a real difference in such a short election cycle.
The Teamsters, one of the largest U.S. unions, declined to make an endorsement this election cycle after their president, Sean O’Brien, became the first Teamsters president to address this year’s Republican national convention. The union announced its “non-endorsement” with a poll of members who supported Trump.
Trump has had less success with United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, who stood up for Harris, a move that prompted Trump to insult Fain and autoworkers. The former president has continued to gain support from UAW members in Michigan with promises to increase auto jobs.
The UAW released a poll last week showing that members in key battleground states support Harris by 22 percentage points over Trump. The union has campaigned in support of Harris, noting that support for her rose to 29% among members contacted by the union about the election.
Fain will make a final appeal to members on Tuesday: “This election, the question for UAW members and for every member of the working class is simple: Which side are you on? If you are working class, it is time to stand up. If you’re tired of the endless greed of corporate America, it’s time to speak out,” he wrote on X.
In the meantime, the knocking on the door continues. On October 19, the Service Employees International Union, the National Education Association, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Teachers began a joint multi-state voter outreach program that included a series of meetings and statewide canvassing efforts at key areas. swing states.
The unions together have more than 8 million members.
“We will have our members and leaders on the ground in every battleground state from now until Election Day, ensuring every voice is heard and every vote is counted,” said SEIU President April Verrett.
David Bonilla, 21, works as an airport service representative in Phoenix, Arizona. He started campaigning this year and is excited because it will be the first presidential election in which he is old enough to vote.
He started working about two years ago, in the middle of a contract fight with his employer, which was only recently resolved after three separate strike actions.
Bonilla explained that he became involved in the door-knocking campaign in Arizona because he noticed there was much more work to be done for workers and to ensure that union-supportive officials are elected.
“The Biden administration has really helped by giving unions as a whole a lot more power to demand more, to demand more from our employers, and I think Kamala Harris wants to continue that. For us it’s a no-brainer. We need to knock on her door and get her in power just to give working people more control in their lives,” Bonilla said.
“Especially for our union, who are service and hospitality workers, we are the backbone of our economy and these are the jobs that low propensity voters, the people we reach at the door, work in.”
For the American labor movement, the differences between Harris and Trump are stark. Harris has strongly supported unions and is supported by a majority of unions, while Trump has castigated unions and workers. Under the Trump administration, his appointees have rolled back worker protections and pro-organization rules at the U.S. Department of Labor.
“It’s important that I knock on doors and do research because Kamala supports a lot of the things that I’m dealing with, that a lot of American people are dealing with, like ending price gouging, supporting the right to make a decision for your own body and the tips,” says Morlaina Bruce, chambermaid at Circus Circus in Las Vegas, Nevada and a member of the Culinary Union for seven years. “I worry about the hatred that Trump has sown there, the division and the lies he tells.”
