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The Conversation
The Conversation
Robert Forrant, Professor of U.S. History and Labor Studies, UMass Lowell

Trump and Harris, with starkly different records on labor issues, are both courting union voters

Both candidates are reaching out to union leaders and rank-and-file members. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images and Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump are in a tight race for the White House. Every voting bloc will count – including members of labor unions and other people in their households.

The majority of union leaders have over generations endorsed Democratic candidates, and this race is no exception. Although rank-and-file union members have also historically sided with the Democratic Party by large margins, that support has wavered for at least the past 45 years. In 2016, exit polls indicated that voters in union households supported Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over Trump by only 8 percentage points, down from 18 percentage points in 2012 when Barack Obama was on the ballot.

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