Democratic leaders admit they are struggling to find a way to win back the trust and votes of working-class Americans. After the setbacks experienced by the party in 2024, it started with the loss of the presidency, but of course it did not end there. Candidates for Democratic National Committee chairman and other party leadership positions recognize that the party must come up with a better way to convince voters who work for a living. One of the candidates Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler said: say, “The Democratic Party’s brand has been tarnished and is holding back people in many parts of the country. ”
fair enough. So how can Democrats rebrand and connect with working-class voters? They are the kind of multiracial candidates who historically provided overwhelming majorities for Democratic presidential and congressional candidates, from the era of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman to the era of Lyndon Johnson and Barack Obama. How do we assemble a multicultural working class coalition? These questions have simple answers. It’s about getting more Americans into unions. The labor movement gave overwhelming support to Kamala Harris and the 2024 Democratic Senate and Congressional candidates, and efforts to field union members to endorsed candidates have been far more successful than Democratic efforts. “Union members voted for Democratic candidates at a much higher rate than the general public,” explained AFL-CIO President Liz Schuller. Not only that, union members voted for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Written by Harris A solid margin of 57-39, According to exit polls. This is comparable to the union vote for Joe Biden in 2020, a remarkable fact in an election year in which support for the Democratic Party declined among many demographic groups. “in fact,” Politico pointed out: “In what is shaping up to be one of the strongest presidential election cycles in recent memory, union voters were one of the few groups that did not see a noticeable shift toward Trump and the Republican Party.”
So why do we hear so much about Democrats losing working-class votes? Because most working Americans are not members of a union. As a result, they are not informed by the education campaigns that unions run to inform their own members and turn them into voters for pro-labor candidates. “Vice President Harris had a higher percentage of union voters in this election than President Biden in 2020. But she still lost! ” explains the president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trade Unions. jimmy williams jr. why? “The Democratic Party has continued to prioritize a strong working-class message that addresses issues that really matter to workers,” Williams explains. “The party made no active case for why workers should vote for them, only that they are not Donald Trump. That’s not enough anymore! How can the party get things right? Can the AFL-CIO have a plan?
DNC chairman raceThis is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put working people back at the center,” Schuller explains.As a diverse movement with organizing at its core, we know how to come together with a message that resonates for victory. ”
What resonated with union members in 2024 was “built around “Economic issues are of broad interest,” says Schuller. “In an era of heightened cynicism and distrust of politics, these messages have become even more salient because they are delivered by voters’ trusted union members on their doorsteps, in their workplaces, over the phone, and through digital advertising. If more workers were represented, and therefore more voters, the outcome of the 2024 election would have been different.”
Schuller said that in order to create a different and better-performing politics for the Democratic Party, party leaders must think about selecting new candidates for the DNC board. There is.This is an opportunity for the Democratic Party to change course and focus its purpose and message on the economic and social needs of working people. It’s time to stop doing business as usual. To win future elections, the party must refocus its communications with workers, take innovative approaches and send messages that are relevant to where they are. ”
It’s not just a call for change. This is a new standard that can and should be applied to candidates for top DNC posts.
Schuller said the unions that make up the AFL-CIO say:We use the following principles to measure our support for the next candidate for DNC leadership.
DNC leadership must have strong ties to workers and unions. It means you have worked extensively with or for workers in the past. In addition to understanding working-class values, DNC leaders need to know how to organize and talk to workers. It is simply unacceptable to have leaders who prioritize large corporate donors.
The party must restore its ties with workers by focusing on the core economic issues that concern them most. That means working closely with the labor movement to develop an economic framework of values-based policies and messages that appeals to all working people, regardless of age, race, gender or ideology. To be the party of working people, Democrats need to talk openly and often with all working people about the economic issues that touch their families’ plates every day.
party leaders We must commit to a robust 365-day-a-year field program that engages workers in our communities.. The only way Democrats can cut through the political noise with working-class policies is to build year-round infrastructure to reach voters where they are.
Party must address poor communication with workersInvest in innovative and creative messaging methodsRather than simply enriching the consulting class,.Democrats need to leverage a variety of community-based platforms to reach working people everywhere on the issues that matter most, not just in the run-up to an election, but always.
As the race for the DNC chair and other key positions progresses, Schuller says, “working people need to have a seat at the table.” And they need answers. “Every Democrat running for leadership should be able to clearly state the answer to this fundamental question: If you are elected speaker, will you increase the voice and influence of working people and working people within the Democratic Party? What do you do for? ” Schuller and the AFL-CIO union want more details. And they shouldn’t be the only ones asking for them. All Democrats who want to reconnect their party with the country’s majority working-class voters should look to the men and women who are leading the Democratic Party out of the wilderness for answers.
