President Joe Biden is slated to land a large endorsement from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The AFL-CIO endorsement is expected to be announced later in June following a Biden union rally in Philadelphia, WSJ reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The federation represents over 12 million people, making it the largest union federation in the United States. AFL-CIO spent over $2 billion in contributions, as well as over $5 billion in lobbying, in 2022, according to data from campaign finance watchdog Open Secrets. Each of the last three Democratic presidents has been endorsed by the federation, including Biden in 2020.
Working class support, which includes a significant number of union members, has been a determining demographic in recent elections, including Biden’s victory in 2020. In his contest with former President Donald Trump, Biden won union voters by 14 points (56% support), but non-union voters by two points, according to WSJ. Trump garnered 42% support from union voters, the outlet reported, citing data from AP VoteCast.
I make no apologies for being the most pro-union president in American history.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 20, 2023
However, some polling reportedly shows Democratic leads in union households are shrinking. Democrats won union households by 10 percentage points in the 2022 midterms — four points lower than Biden’s victory in 2020, according to WSJ. The party lost nonunion households by seven points in the same election. (RELATED: Working Class Latinos Are Fleeing Democratic Party)
Republicans have made moves to gain more union and working class support in recent elections. In 2000, former Republican President George W. Bush won 37% of union households at a time when roughly a quarter of the country’s households were union-affiliated, according to WSJ. Trump won 42% of union households in his race against Biden in 2020. Roughly 17% of today’s electorate is comprised of union households, the outlet reported.
The reported endorsement will give the AFL-CIO time to campaign for Biden in the early stages of the election cycle, including in his primary run against smaller competitors such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Democratic primary candidate for president Marianne Williamson.