Even before Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, he built a reputation as a pro-labor politician.
Last fall, Walz joined a group of striking auto workers on the picket line in Plymouth, Minn., garnering respect from one of the country’s largest unions.
"That's who we believe would be best for labor and for working class people but you know, that's her decision," said United Auto Workers Union (UAW) president Shawn Fain of Walz and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, before Harris selected her VP candidate.
Since he was chosen as the Democratic vice presidential candidate last week, Walz’s support from labor groups including teachers and farmworkers has only grown on the national stage.
“Farm workers have long known that Vice President Harris is someone who listens to labor and really internalizes our concerns – her selection of such a pro-labor champion like Governor Walz as her running mate is just further proof,” the United Farm Workers President President Teresa Romero said in a statement to Salon.
As a former high school teacher, Walz was once a union member himself. Long before Walz joined the national ticket, he helped make Minnesota one of the most worker-friendly states in the country.
“He's done great work here with labor, and we appreciate his willingness to always be at the table with us,” said Bernie Burnham, the president of Minnesota AFL-CIO, the president of Minnesota American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
“When you see Tim Walz, you can see he's as comfortable getting down the floor and talking to a toddler as he is listening to senior citizens and hearing about what their needs are,” Burnham said.
In 2023, Walz passed one of the country’s most comprehensive worker protection bills in Minnesota. The bill, SF3035, mandates paid sick days, bans non-compete agreements, expands collective bargaining terms, gives more funding to workplace inspectors and increases safety protections for workers in nursing homes, warehouses, meatpacking plants and construction sites.
“I think it's a great bill, and I think that people workers for sure, know that they can go to work and feel safe and that they are respected, you know, that we're looking out for them,” said Bernie Burnham.
Along with passing SF3035, Walz established a minimum wage for Uber and Lyft drivers despite fierce opposition from rideshare companies. No other state has established a similar pay minimum.
He also passed protections for Amazon warehouse workers. Amazon must now provide warehouse workers with a written description of their expected quota to prevent injuries related to working too quickly.
But a lot of what Walz has fought for goes beyond just putting money in workers’ pockets, said Jake Schwitzer, the executive director of North Star Policy Action, a Minnesota-based think tank. Walz has built an eco-system of policies that support working-class families, Schwitzer said.
Walz signed into a law a nation-leading child tax credit of $1,750 per child with no limit on the number of children claimed. In 2024, over 437,000 children benefited from the claim. He also made school lunches free for all children and cut in-state college tuition for families earning less than $80,000 per year.
“Things like strong support for our public schools, that really matters to working families. The child tax credit, that's not a union or a non-union issue that's supporting families and working class folks,” Schwitzer said.
While Walz has a long pro-worker track record, Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, has made similar claims, attempting to rebrand the Republican party as pro-labor.
"We need a leader who's not in the pocket of big business but answers to the working man, union and non-union alike,” Vance said at the Republican National Convention.
Yet Trump’s first administration was staunchly anti-labor. He restricted the unions rights to organize and weakened worker protections. On Tuesday, the UAW announced the union is filing federal charges against Trump for arguing that striking workers should be fired.
Vance too has faced criticism for his worker-friendly facade. Recent allegations have surfaced that workers at a startup funded by Vance faced “nightmarish” conditions.
“I think it's a pretty stark comparison. JD Vance likes to point out problems and blame people for those problems existing,” Schwitzer said, comparing Vance to Walz. “Tim Walz, when he identifies a problem, he uses collective effort and the power of the government to improve people's lives.”
