AFL-CIO to endorse Clinton

The AFL-CIO political committee's recommendation Friday that the federation endorse Hillary Clinton should end most — but not all — division within the labor movement about this year's presidential contest.

Approval of the political committee's recommendation is a foregone conclusion when the AFL-CIO general board meets June 16. It comes two days after two holdout unions, the United Steelworkers and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, gave Clinton the nod.


But those union endorsements prompted some blowback from rank-and-file members ("I want my dues back," wrote Edward Nelson, an instrument technician in Chalmette, La., on the Steelworkers' Facebook page), and the AFL-CIO's pending endorsement will likely occasion similar complaint.

Clinton locked up endorsements from unions representing a majority of the nation's union members way back in October, but many rank-and-file unionists made it clear they didn't agree with their leaders' choice. Bernie Sanders continues to draw support among union members, and so, to a lesser extent, does Donald Trump.

Indeed, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka felt compelled last July to issue a memo instructing the federation’s affiliates to hold off on issuing their own endorsements after several of them indicated publicly their support for Sanders. Those divisions likely contributed to the federation’s resolve not to endorse until the Democrats had a presumptive nominee (though it has seldom chosen early in past election years).

The Teamsters, the Firefighters and UNITE HERE remain on the sidelines, though they may well endorse Clinton in coming weeks. Another holdout — the United Mine Workers — is unlikely to give Clinton the nod after her March comment that, "We're going to put a lot of coal companies and coal miners out of business." The union will likely sit out the election altogether, UMWA Director of Government Affairs Phil Smith told POLITICO earlier this week.

One advantage to the AFL-CIO in endorsing late is that it gave Sanders' candidacy time to push Clinton’s policy stances in a more labor-friendly direction on trade and inequality. During the primary Clinton, goaded by Sanders, came out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Affordable Care Act’s "Cadillac Tax" on expensive health plans, both significant union bugaboos.

"We had to acknowledge that we had a big issue with the trade part of Clinton's history," said United Auto Workers Secretary-Treasurer Gary Casteel.

Trump's role in the campaign is more complicated for labor. Union leaders have never trusted him, in part because he favors right-to-work laws and opposes a federal minimum wage increase. Long before the AFL-CIO was ready to endorse a candidate, Trumka was speechifying and even dedicating some media spending to combat Trump's candidacy. "Trump says he’s with the American working class," Trumka said in March, "but when you look close, it’s just hot air."

But Trump's opposition to trade liberalization — a novelty in a Republican — put him on unions' side. "It doesn't mean he did it in an honest way," said United Steelworkers Political Director Tim Waters. "But he raised it. We welcome this issue as part of a major national American campaign."

