Rallying With Union Members, Biden Calls Himself 'Most Pro-Union President' In History
Daniel Marans
Sat, June 17, 2023
President Joe Biden speaks during a political rally in Philadelphia on Saturday, June 17.
PHILADELPHIA — Speaking on Saturday to more than a thousand union members in his first campaign rally of the 2024 election cycle, President Joe Biden celebrated the work that he’s done to create union jobs and warned union members about the dangers of him not winning a second term.
After walking onstage to Whitney Houston’s rendition of “Higher Love,” Biden waxed lyrical about his kinship with labor unions, noting that wife Jill Biden, a teacher, is a member of the National Education Association and grew up in the Philadelphia area.
“It feels good to be home,” he said.
“A lot of politicians in this country can’t say the word ‘union.’ I’m not one of them. I’m proud to say the word. I’m proud to be the most pro-union president in American history,” Biden said, prompting chants of “four more years.”
Biden went on to enumerate the many policy wins that he has helped deliver for organized labor, including infrastructure legislation, a relief bill that helped fund public sector jobs, a climate bill that is spurring domestic clean energy manufacturing, and his support for organizing rights. Under Biden, the National Labor Relations Board has been especially active in adjudicating fights for union recognition and punishing violations of labor law by employers.
Biden also touted his success defending Social Security and Medicare from cuts during the recent debt ceiling negotiations in Washington. If given a second term, Biden promised to push forward with what he called “Bidenomics” — a progressive alternative to trickle-down economics that focuses on promoting domestic manufacturing and correcting inequities in the tax code, such as the carried-interest loophole that enables super-rich finance executives to pay a 20% tax rate.
“It’s about time the super-wealthy started paying their fair share,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump and others from the growing field of Republican hopefuls vying to take on Biden were notably absent from the speech. Biden did not even hint at any specific candidates.
He instead treated the Republican effort to unseat him as a monolithic threat to working people’s interests. He warned the boisterous group of assembled union members — clad in Biden 2024 T-shirts in the colors of their individual unions — that Republicans could undo his renewable energy investments and other initiatives that are supporting union jobs.
“They’re coming for your jobs,” he said toward the end of his remarks. “They’re coming for your future. They’re coming for the future ability of your kids and grandkids,” he added.
“We’ve got a fight on our hands,” Biden said. “And my question to you is simple: Are you with me in this fight?”
The audience cheered in affirmation.
Indeed, the self-selecting crowd of politically active union members from across Pennsylvania didn’t need much selling on Biden’s presidency.
Bliss Allen, a Lansdowne resident who is participating in the Laborers’ International Union of North America pre-apprenticeship program for young people from marginalized communities, said he was impressed with the infrastructure bill.
“To see him, in this presidency, spend the money dedicated to actually getting our infrastructure — it’s not something that right now he’s going to be recognized for, but it’s something that America is making,” Allen said. “To see now, ‘OK, cool — I’m actually a part of this now.’”
Kevin Niewinski, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers from South Philadelphia, told HuffPost after the rally that he appreciated Biden’s call to make wealthier people “pay their fair share.”
“I feel like the working man’s got a shot now, a fair shake,” Niewinski said.
Prior to the rally, Biden was briefed by Pennsylvania Democratic officials on the collapse of part of Interstate 95 in northeastern Philadelphia and took an aerial tour of the damage. In his speech to union members, Biden promised that the federal government would provide all the resources necessary for a speedy rebuilding of the critical transportation artery.
Saturday’s rally was part of a show of force from the Biden campaign and key Democratic interest groups.
The AFL-CIO, the 12.5 million-member federation of labor unions that organized the rally, endorsed Biden on Friday, which it said is the earliest that the federation has ever endorsed a presidential candidate and is nearly a year earlier than when it endorsed Biden in the 2020 election cycle. A number of individual unions also announced their endorsements that day. And earlier this week, an array of environmental groups announced their support for Biden’s reelection bid.
“With labor unions, it brings people together across party lines, and so we can be in an issues-based frame out there at the community level, and really getting people on board,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler told a group of reporters after the rally.
In 2016, Trump won a larger-than-normal share of union members, leading Democratic-aligned unions to redouble their efforts to reach out to members about the stakes of having a Democrat in the White House. Memories of that race are still fresh in the minds of union leaders.
“There’s some support among our membership for Donald Trump. I think it’s waned over time,” Shuler said, before making an apparent reference to recent criminal charges facing Trump. “As these legal troubles continue to surface, I think people are asking themselves, ‘Who do we want out there fighting for us?’”
Biden’s recent legislative wins and Democrats’ strong performance in last year’s midterm elections succeeded in quieting doubts about how Biden’s age might affect the 80-year-old’s performance in the general election.
But polling still shows that many Democratic voters do not want him to run again. And the anti-establishment campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has attracted double-digit support in some early primary polls.
A White House official present at Saturday’s rally declined to comment on Kennedy’s bid.
Asked whether the coordinated show of support from labor and other liberal groups was designed to shore up Biden’s weakness with the Democratic base, Shuler insisted that it was solely due to his status as a uniquely dedicated champion for organized labor.
“What’s there to talk about when you have the most pro-union president, who’s standing up, fighting for us?” she asked.
“The policies reflect it, his Cabinet reflects it, his regulatory approach reflects it.”
So, how is Biden more pro-labor than former President Barack Obama?
“There’s some subtlety because he is from the top sending the message to every aspect of the administration … that unions and building from the middle out and the bottom up is the priority,” Shuler said, noting that organized labor now has an official representative in the Department of Commerce, historically a hub for business interests.
“And so it has actually taken hold in every aspect of the administration in a way that’s deeper than ever before.”
Daniel Marans
Sat, June 17, 2023
President Joe Biden speaks during a political rally in Philadelphia on Saturday, June 17.
PHILADELPHIA — Speaking on Saturday to more than a thousand union members in his first campaign rally of the 2024 election cycle, President Joe Biden celebrated the work that he’s done to create union jobs and warned union members about the dangers of him not winning a second term.
After walking onstage to Whitney Houston’s rendition of “Higher Love,” Biden waxed lyrical about his kinship with labor unions, noting that wife Jill Biden, a teacher, is a member of the National Education Association and grew up in the Philadelphia area.
“It feels good to be home,” he said.
“A lot of politicians in this country can’t say the word ‘union.’ I’m not one of them. I’m proud to say the word. I’m proud to be the most pro-union president in American history,” Biden said, prompting chants of “four more years.”
Biden went on to enumerate the many policy wins that he has helped deliver for organized labor, including infrastructure legislation, a relief bill that helped fund public sector jobs, a climate bill that is spurring domestic clean energy manufacturing, and his support for organizing rights. Under Biden, the National Labor Relations Board has been especially active in adjudicating fights for union recognition and punishing violations of labor law by employers.
Biden also touted his success defending Social Security and Medicare from cuts during the recent debt ceiling negotiations in Washington. If given a second term, Biden promised to push forward with what he called “Bidenomics” — a progressive alternative to trickle-down economics that focuses on promoting domestic manufacturing and correcting inequities in the tax code, such as the carried-interest loophole that enables super-rich finance executives to pay a 20% tax rate.
“It’s about time the super-wealthy started paying their fair share,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump and others from the growing field of Republican hopefuls vying to take on Biden were notably absent from the speech. Biden did not even hint at any specific candidates.
He instead treated the Republican effort to unseat him as a monolithic threat to working people’s interests. He warned the boisterous group of assembled union members — clad in Biden 2024 T-shirts in the colors of their individual unions — that Republicans could undo his renewable energy investments and other initiatives that are supporting union jobs.
“They’re coming for your jobs,” he said toward the end of his remarks. “They’re coming for your future. They’re coming for the future ability of your kids and grandkids,” he added.
“We’ve got a fight on our hands,” Biden said. “And my question to you is simple: Are you with me in this fight?”
The audience cheered in affirmation.
Indeed, the self-selecting crowd of politically active union members from across Pennsylvania didn’t need much selling on Biden’s presidency.
Bliss Allen, a Lansdowne resident who is participating in the Laborers’ International Union of North America pre-apprenticeship program for young people from marginalized communities, said he was impressed with the infrastructure bill.
“To see him, in this presidency, spend the money dedicated to actually getting our infrastructure — it’s not something that right now he’s going to be recognized for, but it’s something that America is making,” Allen said. “To see now, ‘OK, cool — I’m actually a part of this now.’”
Kevin Niewinski, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers from South Philadelphia, told HuffPost after the rally that he appreciated Biden’s call to make wealthier people “pay their fair share.”
“I feel like the working man’s got a shot now, a fair shake,” Niewinski said.
Prior to the rally, Biden was briefed by Pennsylvania Democratic officials on the collapse of part of Interstate 95 in northeastern Philadelphia and took an aerial tour of the damage. In his speech to union members, Biden promised that the federal government would provide all the resources necessary for a speedy rebuilding of the critical transportation artery.
Saturday’s rally was part of a show of force from the Biden campaign and key Democratic interest groups.
The AFL-CIO, the 12.5 million-member federation of labor unions that organized the rally, endorsed Biden on Friday, which it said is the earliest that the federation has ever endorsed a presidential candidate and is nearly a year earlier than when it endorsed Biden in the 2020 election cycle. A number of individual unions also announced their endorsements that day. And earlier this week, an array of environmental groups announced their support for Biden’s reelection bid.
“With labor unions, it brings people together across party lines, and so we can be in an issues-based frame out there at the community level, and really getting people on board,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler told a group of reporters after the rally.
In 2016, Trump won a larger-than-normal share of union members, leading Democratic-aligned unions to redouble their efforts to reach out to members about the stakes of having a Democrat in the White House. Memories of that race are still fresh in the minds of union leaders.
“There’s some support among our membership for Donald Trump. I think it’s waned over time,” Shuler said, before making an apparent reference to recent criminal charges facing Trump. “As these legal troubles continue to surface, I think people are asking themselves, ‘Who do we want out there fighting for us?’”
Biden’s recent legislative wins and Democrats’ strong performance in last year’s midterm elections succeeded in quieting doubts about how Biden’s age might affect the 80-year-old’s performance in the general election.
But polling still shows that many Democratic voters do not want him to run again. And the anti-establishment campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has attracted double-digit support in some early primary polls.
A White House official present at Saturday’s rally declined to comment on Kennedy’s bid.
Asked whether the coordinated show of support from labor and other liberal groups was designed to shore up Biden’s weakness with the Democratic base, Shuler insisted that it was solely due to his status as a uniquely dedicated champion for organized labor.
“What’s there to talk about when you have the most pro-union president, who’s standing up, fighting for us?” she asked.
“The policies reflect it, his Cabinet reflects it, his regulatory approach reflects it.”
So, how is Biden more pro-labor than former President Barack Obama?
“There’s some subtlety because he is from the top sending the message to every aspect of the administration … that unions and building from the middle out and the bottom up is the priority,” Shuler said, noting that organized labor now has an official representative in the Department of Commerce, historically a hub for business interests.
“And so it has actually taken hold in every aspect of the administration in a way that’s deeper than ever before.”
Charles R. Davis
Sat, June 17, 2023
President Joe Biden speaks at a political rally at the Philadelphia Convention Center in Philadelphia, Saturday, June 17, 2023.
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
President Joe Biden addressed union supporters in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Union members told Insider they are not too concerned about Biden's age or electability.
"I never heard someone who is Catholic say the pope is too old," one union member said.
PHILADELPHIA — Under another president, Jaysin Saxton might not have a job.
A shift supervisor at Starbucks, the 32-year-old was fired last year after speaking out about the effort to unionize his workplace. He was reinstated months later following a complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board — stacked with new, pro-union appointees since 2021 — with a federal judge ruling that his employer had illegally retaliated against him.
President Joe Biden and his administration have been allies and have given Starbucks workers "a platform, quite frankly," Saxton, who is from Augusta, Georgia, said in an interview, noting that organizers have been invited to the White House. "And because of that, we've been able to mobilize and fight for proposals that could greatly improve our lives."
Biden has largely governed as a friend of labor — its best friend in the years, if not ever, in the eyes of some union supporters. His appointments to the NLRB, which adjudicates disputes between companies and workers, have shifted power to workers. The board has sided not just with Starbucks organizers but has also recently declared that both non-disparagement and non-compete clauses are generally illegal.
Biden's path to reelection depends in part on touting those achievements and turning out union members in November 2024. It also runs through Pennsylvania, where the president spoke Saturday at a rally sponsored by the AFL-CIO, the country's largest union federation, which endorsed his reelection bid this week. Hundred of union members from across the country attended the rally.
"There are a lot of politicians in this country who can't say the word 'union,'" Biden said Saturday afternoon, supporters in colorful union merchandise cheering behind him. "You know I'm not one of them. I'm proud to say the word. I'm proud to be the most pro-union president in American history. I promised you I would be."
Biden needs unions — and Pennsylvania
This native son of Pennsylvania, born in Scranton 80 years ago, has now made no fewer than 10 official stops in the commonwealth since becoming president, and even more informal visits, including a jaunt this past April to the University of Pennsylvania, where his granddaughter, a student, put on an art show.
Biden's latest trip was all about politics and his own political future, which could well be decided by his state of birth. Pennsylvania, with 19 electoral votes up for grabs next year, is not just a bellwether but possibly the key to the White House. In 2016, former President Donald Trump won this swing state by about 48,000 votes; in 2020, the incumbent lost by more than 80,000.
But while Pennsylvania's Democratic Party has performed well in recent years, including the recent midterm elections, which are generally seen as a referendum on the incumbent president — winning the governor's office, sending John Fetterman to the US Senate, and taking over the state house for the first time in a decade — there are concerns among rank-and-file Democrats over whether Biden can repeat his 2020 performance.
Several union members who spoke to Insider tried to address concerns over Biden's age and dismal polling by speaking about the coalition that would propel him to a second term and what that coalition could achieve, emphasizing policy more than the man himself — and contrasting it with the cult of personality formed around some of his rivals.
A nurse from Queens, Mary Samaroo, pointed to the president's executive order, issued in April, that instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to consider minimum staffing requirements for medical facilities such as nursing homes. That would provide welcome relief, Samaroo, a member of the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, told Insider, describing a status quo where nurses are overworked and patients are denied adequate care.
"Pushing for this safe staffing will give us the ability to ensure that each patient gets the care that they need," Samaroo said. "If we all mobilize around him, he will be able to do what has to be done."
Although Biden can point to some major legislative victories already, including an infrastructure bill that will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the state, he himself remains stubbornly unpopular, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere: He last enjoyed a favorable approval rating in August 2021, the month that US troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
A recent fall on stage has also served as a reminder of the president's advanced age. Trump, his chief Republican rival, is just three years younger and facing multiple felony charges after trying and failing to overturn his 2020 election loss. But, just over 500 days from the election, Trump is in a statistical dead heat to return to the White House.
The age question
Nora Dumenigo, an immigrant from Cuba who works as a cleaner at Miami International Airport, is supporting Biden "because he has helped us a lot in difficult moments," she said in Spanish, pointing to efforts earlier in his presidency to address the pandemic.
A member of the SEIU, she thinks he offers the best chance to improve pay and health care for laborers like her. Those supporting Trump or other Republican candidates, she argued, have lost touch with workers.
"They are people who are comfortable and who simply think about what benefits them, but do not think about what harms everyone else," Dumenigo said.
But what about his age? Biden would be 82 at the start of a second term, and his periodic trips and gaffes have been fodder for right-wing critics. At Saturday's rally, however, union members insisted it is not a concern — and that the discourse around it is an indictment of the times.
"I think, unfortunately, we live in a culture where we don't honor folks with more experience," Renee Dozier, an electrician from Boston and member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, or IBEW, said in an interview. "He is older, yes, but he has that experience, and he has the wisdom, and he has the discernment. And we need to honor that and use it while we have it."
Mike Brown, a security officer at a local community college and an SEIU member, said his vote was indeed based on the incumbent's long track record in public office. "I'm supporting Joe Biden because he's an advocate for the unions, and he fought for them even before he became president," he said. His age, he suggested, is an asset — and the discussions around it a distraction.
"I never heard someone who is Catholic say the pope is too old," Brown said.
President Joe Biden addressed union supporters in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Union members told Insider they are not too concerned about Biden's age or electability.
"I never heard someone who is Catholic say the pope is too old," one union member said.
PHILADELPHIA — Under another president, Jaysin Saxton might not have a job.
A shift supervisor at Starbucks, the 32-year-old was fired last year after speaking out about the effort to unionize his workplace. He was reinstated months later following a complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board — stacked with new, pro-union appointees since 2021 — with a federal judge ruling that his employer had illegally retaliated against him.
President Joe Biden and his administration have been allies and have given Starbucks workers "a platform, quite frankly," Saxton, who is from Augusta, Georgia, said in an interview, noting that organizers have been invited to the White House. "And because of that, we've been able to mobilize and fight for proposals that could greatly improve our lives."
Biden has largely governed as a friend of labor — its best friend in the years, if not ever, in the eyes of some union supporters. His appointments to the NLRB, which adjudicates disputes between companies and workers, have shifted power to workers. The board has sided not just with Starbucks organizers but has also recently declared that both non-disparagement and non-compete clauses are generally illegal.
Biden's path to reelection depends in part on touting those achievements and turning out union members in November 2024. It also runs through Pennsylvania, where the president spoke Saturday at a rally sponsored by the AFL-CIO, the country's largest union federation, which endorsed his reelection bid this week. Hundred of union members from across the country attended the rally.
"There are a lot of politicians in this country who can't say the word 'union,'" Biden said Saturday afternoon, supporters in colorful union merchandise cheering behind him. "You know I'm not one of them. I'm proud to say the word. I'm proud to be the most pro-union president in American history. I promised you I would be."
Biden needs unions — and Pennsylvania
This native son of Pennsylvania, born in Scranton 80 years ago, has now made no fewer than 10 official stops in the commonwealth since becoming president, and even more informal visits, including a jaunt this past April to the University of Pennsylvania, where his granddaughter, a student, put on an art show.
Biden's latest trip was all about politics and his own political future, which could well be decided by his state of birth. Pennsylvania, with 19 electoral votes up for grabs next year, is not just a bellwether but possibly the key to the White House. In 2016, former President Donald Trump won this swing state by about 48,000 votes; in 2020, the incumbent lost by more than 80,000.
But while Pennsylvania's Democratic Party has performed well in recent years, including the recent midterm elections, which are generally seen as a referendum on the incumbent president — winning the governor's office, sending John Fetterman to the US Senate, and taking over the state house for the first time in a decade — there are concerns among rank-and-file Democrats over whether Biden can repeat his 2020 performance.
Several union members who spoke to Insider tried to address concerns over Biden's age and dismal polling by speaking about the coalition that would propel him to a second term and what that coalition could achieve, emphasizing policy more than the man himself — and contrasting it with the cult of personality formed around some of his rivals.
A nurse from Queens, Mary Samaroo, pointed to the president's executive order, issued in April, that instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to consider minimum staffing requirements for medical facilities such as nursing homes. That would provide welcome relief, Samaroo, a member of the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, told Insider, describing a status quo where nurses are overworked and patients are denied adequate care.
"Pushing for this safe staffing will give us the ability to ensure that each patient gets the care that they need," Samaroo said. "If we all mobilize around him, he will be able to do what has to be done."
Although Biden can point to some major legislative victories already, including an infrastructure bill that will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the state, he himself remains stubbornly unpopular, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere: He last enjoyed a favorable approval rating in August 2021, the month that US troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
A recent fall on stage has also served as a reminder of the president's advanced age. Trump, his chief Republican rival, is just three years younger and facing multiple felony charges after trying and failing to overturn his 2020 election loss. But, just over 500 days from the election, Trump is in a statistical dead heat to return to the White House.
The age question
Nora Dumenigo, an immigrant from Cuba who works as a cleaner at Miami International Airport, is supporting Biden "because he has helped us a lot in difficult moments," she said in Spanish, pointing to efforts earlier in his presidency to address the pandemic.
A member of the SEIU, she thinks he offers the best chance to improve pay and health care for laborers like her. Those supporting Trump or other Republican candidates, she argued, have lost touch with workers.
"They are people who are comfortable and who simply think about what benefits them, but do not think about what harms everyone else," Dumenigo said.
But what about his age? Biden would be 82 at the start of a second term, and his periodic trips and gaffes have been fodder for right-wing critics. At Saturday's rally, however, union members insisted it is not a concern — and that the discourse around it is an indictment of the times.
"I think, unfortunately, we live in a culture where we don't honor folks with more experience," Renee Dozier, an electrician from Boston and member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, or IBEW, said in an interview. "He is older, yes, but he has that experience, and he has the wisdom, and he has the discernment. And we need to honor that and use it while we have it."
Mike Brown, a security officer at a local community college and an SEIU member, said his vote was indeed based on the incumbent's long track record in public office. "I'm supporting Joe Biden because he's an advocate for the unions, and he fought for them even before he became president," he said. His age, he suggested, is an asset — and the discussions around it a distraction.
"I never heard someone who is Catholic say the pope is too old," Brown said.
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