Unions and the No Kings Protests
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It’s true that a few unions, most notably the Teamsters but also some of the trades, have embraced Trumpism. That sucks. This gets a lot of attention. Unfortunately, it is leading liberals to think that unions aren’t on the side of good. But let’s be clear–not are union members just about the only demographic that voted for Harris at a higher rate than they voted for Biden, they are overwhelming opposed to Trump. Who made the No Kings protests happen? Unions had a huge role in this, both in terms of people power and funding.
Some of the largest labor unions in the US are involved in organizing the No Kings protests, with more than 2,700 demonstrations planned across all 50 states, with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and American Federation of Teachers anchoring events.
“Unions understand that a voice at work creates power for regular people at work. Unions understand that a voice in democracy creates power for regular folks, for working folks in a society,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. “These are two of the main ways that regular folks have any power.
“We and labor understand that you need to have a voice to have freedom. Freedom does not come without a voice.”
While prominent Republicans and Trump administration officials have claimed the protests amount to “hate America” rallies – in stark contrast to Trump’s description of January 6 rioters as “patriots”. The Republican congressman Tom Emmer went so far as to suggest that Democrats were bowing to the “pro-terrorist wing of their party” by standing by demands that Republicans address recent Medicaid cuts and extend health insurance subsidies.
Weingarten said the events were actually a response to abuses of power by Trump, and designed to express frustration over his administration’s failure to deal with issues such as soaring grocery and healthcare prices.
“I love America and I resent anyone attempting to take away my patriotism because I want the promise of America to be real for all Americans,” she said. “That’s where labor is. They want the promise of America to be real for our members, and for their families, and for the people we serve.
“Our founders were a rebellious lot who said, ‘We don’t want kings.’ And now 249 years later, people are saying, ‘No, we meant it.’ There’s a lot of things that we’ve changed in America, but one of the things that had stayed constant is we didn’t want kings then, and we don’t want kings now.”
“The real threat to this country isn’t peaceful protesters. It’s politicians shutting down our government to protect billionaires and corporate greed,” said Jaime Contreras, executive vice-president for SEIU 32 BJ, which represents 185,000 janitors, security officers, airport workers and other service employees around the east coast of the US. “What’s ironic to me is you call peaceful protesters ‘terrorists’, but then the people who destroyed our nation’s Capitol building ‘patriots’.
“On 18 October, SEIU members will be in the streets across the country as part of the No Kings [protests], because America belongs to the people, working people, not to billionaires or a few politicians who think they can rule like kings in a democracy like ours.”
It’s frustrating, by the way, when even liberals reduce unions to a few white guys, as if those are the “real workers” of America, which is basically how they frame themselves and how society frames “worker” in America. It’s not the case.