Gov. Tim Walz had a clear mission Tuesday when he spoke to thousands of public sector union members in Los Angeles: to tout his and Vice President Kamala Harris’ pro-union records, criticize opponents Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance for their “war on workers,” and energize the Democratic base with promises of worker-friendly legislation if their ticket wins in November.
“The only thing those two guys know about working people is how to take advantage of them,” Walz told the more than 4,000 people assembled. “They’ve waged war on workers and their ability to collectively bargain.” Trump has a long record of opposing unions and allegedly stiffing contractors as a businessman. Just this week, Trump praised Elon Musk during a livestream for supposedly firing striking workers, prompting an unfair labor practice charge from the United Auto Workers. (The UAW claimed that both men interfered with workers’ attempts to unionize, though it’s unclear which workers Trump was referencing.) Still, Trump’s campaign has made overtures to union members and featured Teamster President Sean O’Brien at the Republican Convention.
The 1.4 million-strong American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees hosted Walz at its biennial convention in Los Angeles. The union, which represents hundreds of public sector occupations, including nurses, correction officers and urban park rangers, is a force in the swing states that Harris and Walz need to win if they hope to prevail in November. In Pennsylvania, a state worth 19 electoral votes, the public sector union represents at least 140,000 members across more than a dozen councils and affiliates, according to reports filed with the Department of Labor. Biden won Pennsylvania by fewer than 82,000 votes in 2020. (Disclosure: AFSCME is a financial contributor to Capital & Main.)
In his speech, Walz took aim at Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a second Trump term. “That’s not the future we want,” he said. Public sector employee unions like AFSCME are a particular target of the 900-page document. Congress should “consider whether public-sector unions are appropriate in the first place,” the report states. In recent weeks, Trump has distanced himself from the plan, written by six of his former cabinet secretaries and more than a hundred members of his administration.
Walz pointed out that he is the first former union member to be on a presidential ticket since Ronald Reagan, who led the screen actors’ guild. “But rest assured, I won’t lose my way,” said Walz, a former teacher and football coach.
Walz promised the crowd Harris would make it easier for public and private sector workers to organize. “Here’s exactly what Vice President Harris will do when she gets to the White House as president: She said she will sign the PRO Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act into law,” he said. The PRO Act, or Protecting the Right to Organize Act, aims to remove barriers to workers seeking to organize a union and bargain collectively in the workplace. The Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act extends private-sector worker protections to state and local government employees, including allowing voluntary union dues deductions.
Harris, Walz pointed out, chaired the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment.
Latonya Reeves, a probation officer and vice president of her AFSCME local, traveled from Minnesota to attend the conference. Walz has “done so much for Minnesota,” she said, rapidly ticking off a list of accomplishments that included legislation that requires paid sick leave and family leave for Minnesotans, banning mandatory meetings aimed at discouraging unionization, and signing a bill that restored the voting rights of felons not currently incarcerated.
From now until Election Day, she sees her job as “organizing marginalized communities” to recognize “who really is truly for us.”
Research assistance for this article was provided by Kalena Thomhave.
A previous version of this story implied that the Teamsters had endorsed Harris. The Teamsters have not yet endorsed a candidate for president.
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