The AFL-CIO highlighted how it hopes to influence the presidential election Monday, just days before rumored plans to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The AFL-CIO is the largest federation of associated unions in the country at 12 million members. It hasn’t yet made a presidential endorsement but has hinted that it will officially back Clinton come Thursday. The union has managed to use its vast political influence to stir the election away from Republican nominee Donald Trump and other candidates it doesn’t like.
“The AFL-CIO and all workers will bring everything we’ve got to this election,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said. “We will soon be making our presidential endorsement and are gearing up to run powerful ground operations in states all over the country.”
The AFL-CIO, alongside several other top unions, launched the For Our Future political action fund May 12 with environmentalist billionaire Tom Steyer. The union’s aim is to influence the current presidential election and oppose Trump. Several trade unions promptly wrote a letter arguing many of the environmentalist policies Steyer supports kill good blue-collar jobs.
“We have also joined a new coalition called For Our Future, that will bring a laser focus to winning the immediate battles ahead for working people,” Trumka continued. “The AFL-CIO joined this coalition because of its commitment to building a 21st Century economy driven by creating and protecting good middle class jobs and promoting policies that will better the lives.”
The AFL-CIO previously tried, but failed, to derail the Trump campaign. The union mobilized members and supporters on the grassroots level to speak out against Trump and launched media campaigns against him. It even declared him its loser of the week Feb. 22 over a labor dispute his Las Vegas hotel is having, and again Feb. 29 for saying he likes right-to-work.
The AFL-CIO is not the only union to denounce Trump during the current election. Labor movement leaders have accused the business mogul of racism, being anti-worker and for trying to divide immigrant families. Stopping illegal immigration has been a defining attribute of the Trump campaign. He also proposed a temporary ban on Muslims after a surge in Islamic terrorist attacks.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
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