The Labor Movement Is Giddy About Tim Walz Becoming Harris’ VP Pick
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been a strong supporter of unions and workers’ rights. Labor leaders see his elevation as a signal that Democrats are serious about empowering the working class.
Mindy Isser
Since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21 and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, politicians, pundits and many voters have been speculating on who Harris would choose as her running mate. On Tuesday the guessing game ended, as Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as the second half of the Democratic presidential ticket.
Harris’ choice may signify a nod to those on the left wing of the party, who down the stretch were heavily pushing for Walz publicly and on social media — or, more likely, internal polling simply showed him as the best candidate to go toe-to-toe with J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s Republican vice presidential nominee. Either way, the addition of Walz to the Democratic ticket can help union leaders, members and working families breathe a sigh of relief: his personal history and policy choices have shown him to be a friend to unions.
While there has been much for the Left to criticize about Biden’s tenure as President — namely his support for Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza — his administration delivered for working people in the United States. Biden has been widely seen as “the most pro-union president” in this country’s history, appointing Jennifer Abruzzo, a union-side lawyer, to the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. He encouraged Amazon workers in Alabama to unionize in 2021, and became the first president to walk on a picket line when he joined United Auto Workers (UAW) members on strike at the Big Three in 2023. His administration also banned certain non-compete clauses, expanded eligibility for overtime pay, and used executive orders to ensure that federal construction projects have project labor agreements which require the hiring of unionized workers. The Biden team also protected millions of workers’ pensions, including those of Teamsters.
And while it became clear over the summer that Biden needed to step down if the Democrats wanted any chance of defeating Trump in November, some voters had concerns about Harris’ commitment to the labor movement. Her brother-in-law, Tony West, has been the chief legal officer at Uber, and is now taking an unpaid leave to advise the Harris campaign until the election. Union members and supporters may worry that West and Uber’s influence could affect Harris’ position on issues such as labor law reform, and specifically supporting the omnibus Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would correctly classify “independent contractors,” such as Uber drivers, as employees who are legally able to unionize. Harris has attempted to ease these concerns by saying that she would sign the PRO Act into law as president, and has herself been a supporter of labor unions, including the powerful Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
With the addition of Gov. Walz to the ticket, union members and workers across the country can feel more confident that their issues will remain at the forefront of a Harris administration. Walz, a union member himself — a former public school teacher and football coach — is the leader of “the best state for workers.” In 2023, the Minnesota legislature passed a bevy of pro-worker legislation, which includes: banning non-compete clauses and mandatory anti-union captive audience meetings, strengthening protections for warehouse and meatpacking workers, allowing teachers to bargain over class sizes, giving workers access to paid family and medical leave, mandating paid sick days, cracking down on wage theft, and much more. These moves have been part of a broader progressive overhaul to policy in Minnesota that Walz oversaw even with a razor-thin majority in the state legislature.
Walz is also planning to sign a new bill that will regulate rideshare drivers’ pay, ensuring that they make at least $1.28 per mile and $0.31 per minute for time spent driving a passenger, which would provide an estimated 20% raise in pay for drivers. This legislation doesn’t affect drivers’ classification as independent contractors, but shows that Walz is willing to stand up for workers, including those at Uber.
Unions are clearly excited about Harris’ pick of Walz, and some labor leaders spoke publicly about their favorites even before the campaign made its announcement. Shawn Fain, president of the UAW, named Walz and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear as the best options for his union’s members. Fain said, “Those would be our top two if we had to pick any… That’s who we believe would be best for labor and for working class people.”
Now that the news is official, labor leaders across the country are sharing their enthusiasm. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler called Walz a “union brother” and a “principled fighter and labor champion.” SEIU Minnesota, which represents 60,000 workers, released a statement which said, “Governor Walz has proven during his time in Congress and especially in the last six years as Governor that he is a champion for unions and working people, pushing for common sense policies that ensure all families — no matter our job, zip code, race or gender — have what we need to thrive… Our Union will be working hard to deliver Minnesota for the Harris/Walz ticket, and we’re excited to see the amazing work we’ve done here in Minnesota be brought to the White House.”
SEIU President April Varrett added that Walz “has delivered tremendous wins for working people in Minnesota. Under his leadership, the state legislature passed the most pro-worker package of laws in decades, the Minnesota Miracle, making it easier for workers to form unions, strengthening worker protections, cracking down on union-busting practices and creating the nation’s first nursing home workforce standards board.”
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)’s International President Kenneth Cooper also released a statement, which says that “By choosing Gov. Walz as her running mate, Kamala Harris proves she is committed to continuing President Biden’s pro-union legacy, and the IBEW is committed to doing whatever we can to help them win this November.” The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), where I work as a communications strategist, also said that Walz “understands what’s important to the members of our union… We plan to mobilize our members to ensure their victory in November.” These messages are significant because other Building Trades Unions, specifically the Teamsters, have not yet endorsed Harris for president, and their President Sean O’Brien recently spoke at the Republican National Convention.
United Steelworkers (USW) President David McCall said that “Vice President Harris couldn’t have chosen a stronger champion of workers to be her running mate.” The UAW’s Fain affirmed that Walz has “stood with the working class every step of the way, and has walked the walk, including on a UAW picket line last fall.” Association of Flight Attendants President Sara Nelson, meanwhile, said “Walz has already shown us how to break down hate by denying it any power as we describe the weirdness of the MAGA agenda.” And American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) President Lee Saunders added that Walz passed “legislation guaranteeing free breakfast and lunch for young students statewide, giving AFSCME school employees the tools they need to keep kids energized and ready to learn.”
This level of giddiness from top labor leaders suggests that the Democratic Party is prioritizing the interests of unions, treating them as a key coalition partner, and doubling down on a pro-worker approach to campaigning and governing. While polls continue to show the presidential race neck-and-neck, the Harris team choosing such an obviously pro-union politician as her running mate can only mean good things for the future of the labor movement.
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