Ahead of the 2020 presidential election cycle, the AFL-CIO’s affiliate unions have undertaken a robust political engagement effort to ensure members have the opportunity to meet and assess candidates. This member-driven process is at the heart of each affiliate’s endorsement decision⁠—and will ultimately be reflected in the federation’s endorsement.

The AFL-CIO also has distributed to each campaign a candidate questionnaire requesting answers on a range of issues important to working people.

Due to the size of the presidential field and the variety of issues our members care about, we expect the vetting process to take some time. We also expect that many affiliates may choose not to make endorsements before the first primaries and caucuses in February.

We therefore commit to the following timeline and process for any federation endorsement: