WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is facing pressure from within his own ranks to abandon his re-election campaign, relying on unions to prove that his record in office is more crucial than his age.
The 81-year-old Democrat will meet with the executive council of the AFL-CIO, America’s largest labor federation, on Wednesday.
The AFL-CIO said the president has been signed up for the meeting for more than a year, but his participation will now come under much greater scrutiny after his penniless debate performance against Donald Trump raised doubts about his ability to run in the November election. His meeting with union officials also coincides with the NATO summit in Washington, where Biden is discussing geopolitical issues with other world leaders.
One person who has attended previous executive council meetings described them as largely informal and unscripted, a sign that Biden cannot rely on a prepared text as he tries to cement support among a group of union leaders who are steadfast and pragmatic to his administration. The person insisted on anonymity to get a preview of the private meeting.
A White House official, who insisted on anonymity to announce the meeting in advance, said Biden wanted to thank union leaders for their support and outline his plans for the future. Biden is close to many of the union leaders who will be in the room and considers AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler a personal friend.
The council is composed of over 50 officials of the unions organized in the AFL-CIO and represents a total of 12.5 million union members.
So far, unions are sticking with the Biden administration, despite widespread fears that Biden’s age will hinder his candidacy after his shaky performance at the June 27 debate. But some statements of support are also diplomatically worded to suggest a degree of flexibility if Biden decides to drop out – they say they support the Biden-Harris administration, not just Biden personally.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris have always stood up for workers – and we will do so for them, too,” Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, said after the debate.
After Biden was interviewed by ABC News last week in the aftermath of his tender debate, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, posted on X: “Biden is an incredible president and tonight we saw that he has the details down pat. He has my support and we are ready to keep working to make sure Biden-Harris wins in November.”
Some union leaders have been more vocal in their support for Biden and his continued candidacy.
United Steelworkers International President David McCall said before Wednesday’s meeting that his union “proudly supports” Biden and that his “record of delivering for working people speaks for itself.”
Kenneth Cooper, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, also stood firmly behind Biden, saying his union members “couldn’t ask for a stronger advocate.”
Wednesday’s meeting has become a test of the labor movement’s strategy of emphasizing Biden’s policy agenda to allay doubts about his candidacy. Biden regularly holds his events in union halls. He made regular visits to several union leaders at Wednesday’s meeting, knowing that the group is a key local link to voters who he believes make him the best Democratic candidate in November.
Over the course of his time in office, Biden has tied his administration to the idea that unions build the middle class. He visited picket lines during auto strikes, supported the steelworkers union in its protest against Nippon Steel’s takeover of U.S. Steel, saved pensions for union members as part of his pandemic relief effort, and supported unions on a recent rule that would make more workers eligible for overtime pay.
Biden is so considerate of union members that he recently canceled a speech scheduled for the National Education Association conference in Philadelphia after union employees announced a strike and formed picket lines.
One person familiar with the labor movement’s thinking said that while there is a recognition that Biden lost some ground with voters after the debate, unions have found that members and their families care more about one-on-one conversations about Biden’s agenda than his age and health. Their argument is that Biden’s agenda has directly helped union members, while Trump’s plans could make them worse off.
The AFL-CIO has raised 42 specific objections to Trump’s tenure as president from 2017 to 2021, noting that the Republican, who recently proposed making tips paid to workers tax-free, also implemented a proposal as president to let bosses pocket their employees’ tips, and raised concerns about his tax cuts and efforts to restrict unionization.
Trump has also sought to curry favor with union members. In January, he met with representatives of the Teamsters Union and said afterward that while Republicans generally do not receive support from unions, “in my case it’s different because I employed thousands of Teamsters and I thought we should come out and show our respect.”
The former president has portrayed himself as a supporter of workers. Teamsters Chairman Sean O’Brien later said there was “no doubt” that Trump enjoyed some support among union members. O’Brien is scheduled to speak at Trump’s invitation to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next week.
In 2020, AP VoteCast found that 16% of voters came from unionized households, and 56% of them supported Biden. Biden and Trump essentially split nonunion households in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, meaning the Democrat’s lead among unionized households was likely a deciding factor in his victory.
