New emails from Hillary Clinton presidential campaign chairman John Podesta revealed tension between the AFL-CIO and top Clinton campaign advisers.
A Sept. 6, 2015, email sent from Clinton spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod recapping that morning’s airing of NBC’s “Meet the Press” included a description of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka’s appearance — where he praised the vice president — but seemed hesitant when it came to Clinton.
“Trumka is asked what it would take for Labor movement to work hard for HRC and he says it all depends where she comes down on TPP,” Elrod said in the email.
A review of the transcript confirms Trumka was hesitant to give a full-throated endorsement for Clinton; he was quick to call Vice President Joe Biden a “champion for working people.”
“Joe Biden’s been a champion for working people all of his life. He’s a blue-collar guy. And he is liked by the membership. He’s liked by Americans. He’d make a good president,” Trumka told Chuck Todd. He said Clinton’s position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership would determine whether people will work hard for her or just vote for her, alluding to the fact that many blue collar workers and union members are wary to support a candidate who previously called TPP the “gold standard” of trade deals.
“This Trumpka [sic] line about Joe Biden really annoys me whenever I hear him say it – that Biden has been fighting for working people his whole life,” Clinton senior policy adviser Ann O’Leary said. “Is there anything we can do to get him to add something nice about HRC?” O’Leary asked Nikki Budzinski.
Budzinski responded to O’Leary, and said she too was annoyed with Trumka and explained she would talk to the AFL-CIO political director about compelling Trumka to say something nice about Clinton. “I agree. He is annoying. I’d like to just call the AFLCIO and talk to Mike Podhorzer about this,” O’Leary said.
The frustration of Clinton’s campaign team with the AFL-CIO highlights the awkward relationship between Clinton and union members. While national union bosses have lined up behind Clinton, many members have voiced their concerns for a candidate who previously supported NAFTA and President Barack Obama’s TPP.
There have been some reports and polls on Republican nominee Donald Trump’s support among union members, and they indicate that while Trump doesn’t have majority support, he has significantly more than previous Republican candidates.
A January report from the AFL-CIO’s political organizing arm, Working America, found Trump trounced Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders among voting members who had firmly chosen a candidate.
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