Fred Redmond, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the labor federation's approach to the Nov. 3 election, the AFL-CIO's election protection program and the organizing trajectory since the June convention.
Redmond described AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler's Labor Day State of the Workers address as articulating the Executive Council's unanimous position on political candidates. The federation will support candidates who support workers and workers’ families, regardless of party affiliation and is prepared to oppose Democrats who take corporate money and support corporate positions as readily as it opposes Republicans who do the same, he said. The federation has trained more than 50,000 election protectors who will be deployed in yellow vests at polling locations in battleground states. They will be armed with legal resources and attorney contacts, and will remain on the ground for at least seven days after the election while votes are being counted.
On organizing, he said the goal set at the June convention to add 2 million union members is the floor, not the ceiling, and the needle is already moving in the right direction.
- This year’s AFL-CIO's Labor Day State of the Workers address by President Liz Shuler reflected a position unanimously held by the AFL-CIO Executive Council that represents the leaders of all 58 affiliated unions. The federation will support worker-first candidates regardless of party, and will withhold support from Democrats who take corporate money and align with corporate interests as readily as it does to Republicans who do the same. AFL-CIO polling found that 94 percent of workers say their paychecks are not keeping up with the cost of living, and four in five say politicians are not showing up for them.
- The AFL-CIO has trained more than 50,000 election protectors who will be deployed at polling locations in battleground states wearing yellow vests, ready to contact attorneys from the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law or labor lawyers. They will be assigned to locations where voter intimidation by ICE or other actors is considered a risk. The program does not end on Election Day. The election protectors will remain on the ground for at least seven days after Nov. 3 while votes are being counted.
- In Redmond’s opinion, the goal to organize 2 million new union members set at the June AFL-CIO Convention should be considered as the floor, not the ceiling. The federation has seen strong organizing victories since the convention, including from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and other affiliates. There is also a backlog of cases at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) awaiting resolution. Public support for unions is at its highest level in a generation, with seven in 10 Americans expressing support for five consecutive years, and workers consistently identify unions as the institution they most trust to address their economic concerns.
First Friday with Fred: The State of the Workers
Redmond, a longtime United Steelworker, serves alongside AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler as the federation's two top officers. Both were reelected at the June convention.
The starting point for the conversation was Shuler's Labor Day State of the Workers address. Redmond described it as right on point, adding that it reflected a position unanimously held by the entire AFL-CIO Executive Council, rather than just the views of leadership.
The substance of that position is that the federation will support any candidate who supports workers and workers' families. Regardless of political affiliation, candidates who have a true, proven commitment to working families will have the support of the AFL-CIO. It also reminds Democrats that those who take corporate money and align with corporate interests will not get Fed support. The work now is getting the candidates who meet this position elected on Nov. 3.
What Workers Are Saying
AFL-CIO polling found that 94 percent of workers say their paychecks are not keeping up with the cost of living. Four in five said politicians are not showing up for them. That frustration is cutting across party lines in a way that makes the AFL-CIO's worker-first approach absolutely necessary, Redmond said.
He said the energy he is feeling in the field matches the polling data. Workers are ready to vote. People are fed up. The labor federation is not reading the mood from afar because they have representatives in the communities, knocking on doors, making phone calls and having workplace conversations.
50,000 Election Protectors and a Seven-Day Watch
The AFL-CIO's election protection program has been running since the last election. The federation has trained more than 50,000 election protectors and is deploying them in battleground states at polling locations identified as potentially problematic, Redmond said.
These protectors can be identified by the yellow vests they will wear. They will also carry contact information for attorneys working with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the federation's in-house labor lawyers. Redmond specifically cited ICE presence at polling stations as one of the threats the program is designed to address. The trained protectors will be able to provide guidance to voters who encounter intimidation.
The program does not end when polls close, Redmond added. Election protectors will remain on the ground for at least seven days after Nov. 3 in locations where votes have not yet been fully counted. The federation is not going away, Redmond said, and plans to watch these votes.
The ground game operating alongside the election protection program is one of the greatest political efforts the AFL-CIO has undertaken in many years, Redmond said. The federation is also working with community groups and allies to extend its reach beyond union members to encourage all working families to vote.
The 2 Million Goal: Floor, Not Ceiling
During the June AFL-CIO convention, Shuler announced a goal of organizing 2 million new union members over the next five years. Redmond was asked whether the needle had begun moving in the right direction. His answer was, “Yes.”
UFCW secured a major organizing victory since the convention, and other affiliates have had strong wins as well, he said. There is a backlog of cases at the NLRB awaiting resolution. Those cases represent additional organizing momentum that has not yet become new members. Redmond added that the 2 million new members is the floor of their ambition, not the ceiling. The federation intends to exceed it, he said.
The public supports the effort. For five consecutive years, polling data has found that seven in 10 Americans support unions, the highest sustained level of support in a generation, with the strongest backing coming from young workers, Redmond said. When workers are asked who they trust to address their economic concerns, unions consistently rank at or near the top — second only to workers’ neighbors.
The Message for the November Election
Redmond's closing message focused on the public’s strong support for the labor movement and on turning that sentiment into votes, with those votes electing officials who will be accountable to working families.
He said the objective is to achieve maximum labor turnout — more workers and their family members casting ballots than in the last election — while staying on the ground until all votes are counted.
He wanted candidates to remember that if they demonstrate a true, proven commitment to working families, the AFL-CIO will be there. Fall short of that standard, regardless of party, and it will not.
More information on the AFL-CIO and Liz Shuler's State of the Workers address is available at aflcio.org.
Go Behind the Scenes of the Labor Movement
Every victory at the bargaining table starts with workers standing together. From the shop floor to the statehouse, hear how activists are fighting for better wages, safer conditions and a stronger future. Subscribe to the America's Work Force Union Podcast to get the latest interviews with the leaders and organizers building worker power across America.
America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.
America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.
