Democrats in California are confronted with yet another union conflict, which President Trump is leveraging to his advantage for the 2024 elections.
Democrats Face Uphill Battle with Labor Unions in 2023
Democrats have encountered numerous challenges with labor unions at both the state and national level in 2023. These obstacles are something that former President Donald Trump hopes will sway blue-collar workers to his campaign in the upcoming 2024 election.
Unions emerged from the 2022 midterm elections with a sense of security, especially after the pro-union Biden administration and Democrats managed to maintain the Senate and secure a slim majority in the House. However, union-busting efforts and prolonged contract negotiations have left unions skeptical about whether Democrats truly deserve their support in the next election cycle.
California Workers Put Pressure on Democrats
Most recently, Democrats are facing a new challenge in California. Striking workers have exerted pressure on California Democrats to push through a last-minute proposal in the legislature that would provide unemployment benefits to those on strike.
The proposal arises as screenwriters and actors are on strike for the first time since 1960, and California hotel workers are in the midst of their own contract negotiations. This development is likely to create tensions among Democrats, who often find themselves torn between business interests and support for unions. The outcome could potentially alienate one of the party’s largest voting blocs heading into the 2024 elections.
National Level Challenges for President Biden
At the national level, President Joe Biden has been working to regain the trust of labor unions following several high-profile disputes that had the potential to cripple the economy. Late last year, Biden and Congress passed the Railway Labor Act to avert a railroad worker strike. However, several unions rejected the deal as it did not meet their demands for paid sick leave, leading them to accuse the president of prioritizing big business over their interests.
Biden is also currently engaged in a tense battle with the United Auto Workers (UAW), who have refrained from endorsing the president despite their support in 2020. Auto workers are preparing to strike over safety concerns and the lack of benefits in electric vehicle production. They argue that there is insufficient incentive to transition from their current factories to electric vehicle plants.
UAW President Shawn Fain has called on Biden and lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to amend federal incentives in various spending legislation to address wage and safety standards at all auto factories. Failure to do so could result in unionized auto workers going on strike in September, leaving Biden at a crossroads between maintaining union support or advancing his green energy agenda.
Impact on Biden’s Chances in 2024
Unions are typically one of Biden and the Democrats’ most loyal constituencies. Failing to secure support from the UAW, for example, could fracture the voting bloc that propelled Biden, the self-proclaimed most pro-labor president in U.S. history, to the White House three years ago.
This could have a significant effect on Biden’s chances in the 2024 election, particularly if Republican candidates like Trump manage to secure the UAW’s endorsement. In a video released in late July, the former president appealed to the union, claiming that only his presidency could save the auto industry from Biden’s “ridiculous Green New Deal crusade.”
Trump has also capitalized on the loss of 117,000 auto jobs, which has been a blow to the Biden administration’s record of low unemployment and the addition of over 200,000 jobs in July alone.
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Biden lost the endorsement of one of New Hampshire’s largest labor unions, the New Hampshire State Employees’ Association/SEIU Local 1984, in April. The union argued that Biden was not sufficiently pro-labor and encouraged other Democratic candidates to enter the race. However, they may reconsider endorsing Biden in the future.
Nevertheless, the president has achieved some small victories, such as the tentative labor agreement reached between the Teamsters Union and UPS on July 25, just six days before over 300,000 UPS unionized workers were scheduled to go on strike.
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