Before the elections, there were signs that Democrats were losing union support.
While Trump did win the November 5 presidential election with less than 50 percent of the popular vote (another rumor we can silence), he failed to win over union voters overall. According to Steve Rosenthal, who has worked as an electoral strategist in the labor movement for over forty years, the political situation could turn again as early as 2026.
Rosenthal believes the labor movement must start preparing now for the anti-worker changes that could come during a second Trump administration, as well as for the next election.
How vital is the labor movement to the Democratic Party if it wants to win? I believe that’s all. The fact that paid leave, for example, was enshrined in the constitutions of many red states during the November elections is a major indication that working people’s policies are the solution of the future.
Indeed, right here in Pennsylvania, in November, Congressman Chris Deluzio was re-elected over Vice President Harris in parts of his Beaver and Allegheny County district. He told the Capital Star: “I’ve always said you can’t win in Western Pennsylvania without the support of union workers.”
Standing up for and supporting workers is a winning strategy that DC Democrats should start employing as they lick their wounds and come to terms with the fact that working class policies like paid leave for all, universal health care, a real living wage , affordable housing and affordable child care are issues that cut across party lines and motivate voters to support candidates who support them in return.
And that, my friends, is a fact.
