The Democratic frontrunner will have an hour-long interview with the AFL-CIO federation but backing is in doubt as leftwing rival Bernie Sanders strikes a chord

Hillary Clinton faces a crucial test of her wavering support among American labor unions on Thursday, with an hour-long interview to help determine whether the AFL-CIO national federation will endorse her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.



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Though union leaders are expected to delay their joint decision until closer to the party’s convention next summer, the fact that their individual backing for the former secretary of state is not a foregone conclusion signals a surge in enthusiasm for her leftwing rival, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.

Sanders wowed many during his own appearance before the AFL-CIO executive council meeting on Wednesday with an emotional appeal for them to join his grassroots movement, according to several of those present in the room.

By contrast, Clinton is expected to be pressed about her lukewarm support for key union campaigns on trade and the minimum wage, as well as fears among some labor leaders that a recent shift to the left in her policy speeches is not matched by a long-term commitment to their cause.

“The most important thing she has to deal with is a perception of an enthusiasm deficit, and the sense that she is running because it’s her turn and not because she has a compelling vision for the country,” said one senior union official. “So Clinton’s challenge here is going to be to manifest fire in the belly.”

So far, only one major union, the American Federation of Teachers, has endorsed any of the candidates. Yet this decision to come out for Clinton has been criticised by some members who question the argument that only she stands a chance of beating Republicans and accuse the union’s president, Randi Weingarten, of being swayed by personal allegiances – something she angrily denies.

“I love Bernie and I think he’s a great guy and as someone who actually believes you have to fight against the oligarchs, I love the fact that he uses that word, but our endorsement process was pretty transparent,” Weingarten told the Guardian.



“[Sanders] is someone who has spent 25 years fighting to change the balance, just as we have, but what we need is to win … not just fight. Our union believes that Hillary Clinton is going to be the one to do that.”

Others leaders point to recent CNN polling suggesting both candidates would fare similarly well against leading Republicans, and are leaning toward an imminent endorsement of Sanders instead.

“Let’s just be real,” the National Nurses United director, RoseAnn DeMoro, told the Guardian. “Bernie Sanders aligns with everybody in organised labor, top to bottom. He can talk about our issues as well as we can talk about our issues.”



Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘Bernie Sanders aligns with everybody in organised labor, top to bottom,’ said one union leader. Photograph: Jim West/Rex Shutterstock

Though similar early support for Sanders is possible from the Communications Workers of America, whose former president recently joined the senator’s campaign team, most big unions are expected to wait; ostensibly in the hope of extracting further policy promises from Clinton, but perhaps also for fear of backing the wrong horse.

Longtime labor watchers point out that an endorsement by the AFL-CIO –something that would require two-thirds of its constituent unions to agree upon – is highly unusual at this stage in contested Democratic race and is a landmark previously achieved only by Walter Mondale in 1984 and Al Gore in 2000.



“If Secretary Clinton, or Senator Sanders, was endorsed by the AFL-CIO it would be an extremely important milestone, it’s just rare that it happens before the primary,” says Steve Rosenthal a former political director of the federation now working as a strategist.

“I think there’s kind of a hysteria around this right now. Given the battles around issues like trade, even if the race had not been as contested as it is now, I would have been really surprised to see an AFL-CIO endorsement – for anybody – this early.”

Nonetheless the importance of individual unions coming out for candidates cannot be overestimated and may serve as an important proxy contest in their battle to prove their commitment to the party’s liberal base.

“Any union endorsement is extremely important at this stage of the game. They provide infrastructure, volunteers, activists: real resources – certainly in battleground states,” added Rosenthal.

“[Clinton] is at this point running an extremely progressive campaign – she has clearly staked out her case – but I think people want more clarity, they want specifics: what the plan looks like and how aggressively she will fight for it.”

Though the backing of the labor movement is no prerequisite, most notably for Clinton’s husband, others agree it is an important chance for underdog candidates to show they have heavyweight backing.

“It’s not just a question of endorsements, it’s a question of energy and enthusiasm,” Sanders told the Guardian when asked why he was courting the union movement so aggressively.

While Clinton is before the executive council on Thursday, Sanders will be holding a rally with health unions to mark the anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid. On Wednesday night, his campaign claimed to hold parties for 80,000 supporters in 3,000 homes across the country – a grassroots movement he wants help from labor activists to grow.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mike Huckabee was the sole Republican presidential candidate to address the AFL-CIO executive council meeting. ‘I don’t see them as the enemy,’ he said. Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

Even one Republican candidate – rightwing populist Mike Huckabee – braved the council meeting on Wednesday seeking an endorsement from union leaders in his party’s primary.

“I am kind of surprised I am the only Republican who is here,” he told the Guardian. “I don’t see them as the enemy,” he added. “I see them as millions of American workers who want good jobs for their families. They are not going to agree with me on everything – that was pretty evident from our conversation – but I think it’s important that we come.”

Other relative outsiders in the Democratic race, such as former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley are more circumspect, arguing times have changed.

“Ultimately, people, especially in this age of information, and in those early states, where they expect to see each of us four, five or six times, are going to make up their own minds,” he said after a well-received but less persuasive appearance before the council.

“I recognise I’m a challenger, man. I know it’s a fine line between delusion and imagination when one runs for president with 1% name recognition but I also know that in those early states they care a lot more about seeing the candidates than they do about the political endorsement process.”



But in the crucial battle to prove that Sanders is a meaningful opponent to Clinton, rather than just a one-man protest movement, their meetings at the AFL-CIO council could prove a defining moment.

“It’s unquestionably true that if there were major union endorsements of Sanders right now it would be transformative,” said the senior union official.

“The fear in the room is that Hillary’s chances of winning might be not be that much better than Bernie’s; they might be worse.”

Clinton aides did not reply to requests for comment.