Some labor union members were initially intrigued by Donald Trump, but have gravitated back into the Democratic fold ahead of November’s elections, with officials saying they are rallying to stop the billionaire businessman GOP nominee, even if they’re not excited about Hillary Clinton.
Labor leadership has always been solidly Democratic, and the debate among those elites was whether to stick with Mrs. Clinton or go with Sen. Bernard Sanders in the primary.
But some rank-and-file members have flirted with Mr. Trump, and even now, the labor leaders worry there’s a lack of enthusiasm for Mrs. Clinton that could keep their numbers down.
“I think a lot of them are turned off. You worry: are they going to go to the polls and vote?” Alan Hughes, president of the Arkansas chapter of the AFL-CIO, said of his members.
The national AFL-CIO has launched an aggressive battleground state push to get out the vote for Mrs. Clinton and other Democrats.
But the International Association of Firefighters, which endorsed President Obama in 2008 and 2012, has declined to endorse a presidential candidate in 2016 and is instead focusing much of its efforts this year on down-ballot races.
“We are fully and completely engaged and invested in this election cycle — more so than ever before,” said IAFF President Harold Schaitberger. “However, we are fundamentally focused, if you will, down ballot.”
The Clinton campaign appears well aware of a potential lack of enthusiasm from labor groups, recently deploying Mr. Sanders and Vice President Joseph R. Biden to speak to union-friendly crowds in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan where working class voters might be struggling.
“I think union members are now focusing on the two choices, and it appears as if the support for Trump is falling, but maybe still a concern in places like Ohio,” said Robert Bruno, director of the Labor Education Program at the University of Illinois.
The differences between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump are starting to become clear, but the enthusiasm levels Mr. Sanders enjoyed should not be underestimated, Mr. Bruno said.
“I think it’s taken a while to get re-energized,” Mr. Bruno said. “I think it’s taken awhile for union members to get over the fact that a Bernie Sanders was not a candidate.”
Some labor leaders say they’ve finally turned a corner and are revving up after seeing more of Mr. Trump, and finding his pledges to be empty.
“His talk about trade and what he was going to do about trade — it was [a] sympathetic ear to a lot of our members who have been affected by trade policies,” said Tom Conway, international vice president of the United Steelworkers union, which is supporting Mrs. Clinton.
“But in the end, he’s just a [expletive] artist,” he said. “If you take away trade from Trump, the rest of it is [expletive] crazy.”
He also cited recent reports that Mr. Trump has used foreign-made steel to construct some of his buildings.
“What are you going to do? You going to tear down Carnegie Mellon and put up a steel mill?” Mr. Conway said. “I mean, who’s [expletive] who here?”
Mr. Trump is counting on his opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership, a trade deal involving a dozen Pacific nations, to win support among union voters. Mrs. Clinton, who while State Department secretary said the TPP sets the “gold standard” for trade agreements, has since shifted her position to match Mr. Trump and Mr. Sanders in opposition.
It’s not clear what inroads Mr. Trump has made, however. Campaigning in Pennsylvania earlier this month he called for AFL-CIO members in the crowd to make themselves heard. The reaction was slight. “All right. Not too many,” he said. “Where are you?”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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