By Carolina Journal Staff
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are blitzing northern union states this Labor Day, courting union voters who may be wavering in their support of the Democratic ticket. President Joe Biden joined the pair for an appearance in Pennsylvania Monday morning. It is his first since being replaced at the top of the ticket and underscores the priority that Democrats are putting on union votes.
Harris has positioned herself as a staunch ally of labor unions as she campaigns for 2024, a red flag for Right-to-Work states like North Carolina.
Harris, alongside North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, toured Durham Technical Community College last year calling for more unionization in North Carolina.
“To continue our recovery, we must then create more good-paying jobs, good union jobs. In big cities and small towns across our country, union workers are building the future,” Harris said in her Durham speech.
While Harris takes heat for unclear or changing policy positions in other areas, her support for pro-union policies, including efforts to expand union influence in the workplace, has been consistent. Harris chaired the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment and in recent interviews has pledged to support unionization in nonunion states. However, this alignment has drawn criticism from Right-to-Work advocates, who argue that her policies could undermine worker freedom and burden small businesses.
North Carolina is a Right-to-Work state, meaning there is a law on the books that bans employers from making union membership a requirement to get or keep a job. While workers can join labor organizations, they don’t have to.
The law was passed in 1947, and in recent years efforts to enshrine the right in the state constitution have been somewhat frustrated. Supporters of a constitutional amendment say that the Right-to-Work law could be overturned by a pro-union General Assembly sometime in the future, but a constitutional amendment would protect workers’ right to work. Today 27 states have Right-to-Work laws, with nine states putting it in their constitutions.
“States with Right-to-Work laws enjoy lower unemployment rates, higher job growth, and higher wage and income growth compared with forced union states,” wrote Vincent Vernuccio in a 2022 report from the John Locke Foundation, parent organization of Carolina Journal. “Right-to-work laws are decidedly pro-worker.”
Critics claim that Harris’ push to empower unions could hurt workers who prefer not to unionize, forcing them to pay dues and adhere to union mandates. Right-to-Work supporters highlight the potential negative impact on economic growth, arguing that Harris’ policies prioritize union bosses over individual worker rights and business flexibility.
However, one of the most powerful union leaders doesn’t seem sold on Harris. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said over the weekend that the Teamsters have not endorsed Harris. O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention in July.
“I want to be clear; at the end of the day, the Teamsters are not interested in whether you have a D, R, or an I next to your name,” he told the RNC crowd. “We want to know one thing: What are you doing to help American workers?”
O’Brien said on “Face the Nation” Sunday that Harris has not yet committed to meet with Teamsters.
While union voters have traditionally supported the Democratic candidate, that started to shift in 2016. According to data from onlabor.org, in 1992 Bill Clinton led George HW Bush among union voters by 30 points. By 2016, Hillary Clinton led Donald Trump among labor union voters by just 8 points. In 2020, Biden/Harris led among unions over Trump by 14 points.
This time around, some labor leaders are cautiously optimistic but not fully convinced by Harris. Despite her vocal support, unions are wary of whether her promises will translate into concrete actions. The Harris campaign is blanketing union states on Labor Day with digital billboard ads calling Donald Trump an “anti-union scab.”
The Labor Day campaign blitz marks 65 days until the 2024 election. Over the weekend, pollster Nate Silver said that Trump has a 52.4% chance of winning the Electoral College, over Harris’s 47.3 percent. However, national polls are showing Harris with a slight lead, but within the margin of error.
The first ballots in the nation will be mailed out in North Carolina, starting Friday.
With less than 3% of NC workers unionized, I fail to see why this matters to NC. It’s another false flag to keep keep the sheep in line.
She is just pandering for votes. She could care less
LMAO don’t forget the Orange 🍊 Dictator Head Panderer is on the ballot
Federal Government cannot overturn the work laws the limit unions in NC. The Courts would never allow it in the end.
Of course they could! The US constitution can easily overtirn NC laws. For example, if there were a constitutional amendment that required companies to have a union, then many (most) of NC’s right-to-work laws would become unconstitutional. Will it happen? Not a chance.
NC workers would be better offf if there were unions.