Trumka: I'm not trying to slow the Sanders surge The AFL-CIO leader says his memo last month was a simple reminder that there’s only one endorsement from the group.

Labor chief Richard Trumka on Monday defended the memo he sent last month to AFL-CIO leaders telling them to stop trying to endorse Bernie Sanders, saying it was more a helpful reminder than an effort to slow the Sanders surge.

“They’re not going rogue, it’s really exciting,” said Trumka, the country’s most influential organized union chief, in an interview with POLITICO.


“The memo just said, before they got out of hand, you know, debate back and forth, talk up a storm. But remember: There’s only one endorsement in a presidential election, and it comes from the national.”

Trumka’s attempt to calm the waters comes as Sanders has picked up significant momentum among local and state labor groups with his fiery rhetoric and unabashed support of progressive initiatives such as a 15 minimum wage, equal health care for all and steeper taxes on the wealthy.

He’s drawn a contrast with Hillary Clinton, the dominant front-runner and a longtime labor stalwart who has met with some skepticism because of her unwillingness to condemn President Barack Obama’s trans-Pacific trade negotiations.

Sanders, however, has been feeling the labor love.

The South Carolina AFL-CIO put out a statement supporting Sanders’ candidacy, for example, before Trumka’s national group forced it to walk back the pseudo-endorsement.

Still, it’s early in the race, Clinton is widely regarded as the leading contender for the eventual backing of major elements of organized labor and the endorsement process is ongoing.

She, Sanders, Martin O’Malley and Republican Mike Huckabee will all meet AFL-CIO leaders on July 29 as part of the procedure, after filling out the group’s questionnaire.

Trumka said on Monday he isn’t sure whether the group would offer a primary endorsement anytime soon (or at all) — a declaration that comes just days after the American Federation of Teachers stirred up some grumbling in the organized labor community by endorsing Clinton.

“No one was surprised that they would endorse Hillary,” said Trumka. Randi Weingarten, AFT’s leader, is a longtime Clinton ally who sits on the board of her supportive super PAC, Priorities USA Action.

Nonetheless, Trumka reiterated the same line his union has promoted from the start: that all potential candidates would be judged by their plans to support a minimum wage increase, protect and bolster overtime laws, lessen mass incarceration, push comprehensive immigration reform and promote equal pay for women.

He also said the trade debate that divided labor and the White House would, naturally, be factored into the process — but that Clinton’s reluctance to weigh in strongly early on was hardly disqualifying: Still, “it was duly noted, by voters.” He similarly noted union leaders had taken note of Sanders’ and O’Malley’s strong stances against the deal early on.

Answering questions from a panel of POLITICO reporters and editors, Trumka also used the opportunity to rail against Republican presidential hopeful Scott Walker, whom Trumka called a “national disgrace” when the Wisconsin governor declared his intention to run for president last week.

“He is the most openly and notoriously anti-worker, anti-union candidate that we have seen in my lifetime,” Trumka said, still insisting that the AFL-CIO has no specific plan to take on Walker, despite leaving its options open to attack his record using “all the venues, from paper, to air, to electronic.”

“Why would any sane human being, knowing his background and who pulls the strings, vote for Scott Walker?” he added. “If you cut the two strings behind him that go to the Koch brothers, he’s like putty. He falls down.”