--- title: "Van Deusen: Organizing is key to labor finding its political voice" description: The America’s Work Force Union Podcast is the nation’s premier daily labor program. David Van Deusen of the Vermont AFL-CIO joined us on today’s show. image: https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/vermont%20aflcio%20red%20mic.jpg --- 1 min read Season 3, Episode 204 # Van Deusen: Organizing is key to labor finding its political voice [ awfblog ](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/author/awfblog) October 17, 2022 [Local Union](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/local-union) [America's Work Force Union Podcast](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/americas-work-force-union-podcast) [AFL-CIO](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/afl-cio) [Government Affairs and Policy](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/government-affairs-and-policy) ![vermont aflcio](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/vermont%20aflcio.jpg?width=407&height=407&name=vermont%20aflcio.jpg)   Guest Name: --- David Van Deusen Guest Website: --- [vt.aflcio.org](https://vt.aflcio.org/) Guest Social Media: --- [ Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/vtworkers) [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/VT_AFLCIO) [ YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/aflcio) [ LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/afl-cio) Supportive Documents: --- [Vermont AFL-CIO](https://vt.aflcio.org/) President David Van Deusen joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the need to grow the labor movement to give working-class families an active voice in politics.  The Vermont AFL-CIO represents 11,500 Affiliated workers and has grown significantly over the last several years, he said.  Van Deusen argued that growth needs to be a priority across the entire labor movement. National union density numbers are about 10 percent, but unions need to recapture numbers the movement enjoyed in the 1960s, he said. Until 50 percent to 80 percent of working people are represented by a union, they will fail to find a true voice in politics, he added. Van Deusen criticized the Democratic party for having a lackluster agenda and said that more needs to be done for the working class. While politics are important and elections matter, the labor movement’s most important priority is organizing, he said. Only through increasing union density can working people find their voice, he added. Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics. --- 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. - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ##### SUBSCRIBE ON: --- [![Group 342](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png?width=171&name=Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/id1511224946) [![Group 341](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Spotify%20Button-Dark.png?width=100&name=Spotify%20Button-Dark.png)](https://open.spotify.com/show/0GzkHxFSBxiXvuX0lZpQBn) [![Group 343](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20343.png?width=135&name=Group%20343.png)](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast-62567752/) [![Group 339](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20339.png?width=110&name=Group%20339.png)](https://www.pandora.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/PC:47979) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20397.png?width=125&name=Group%20397.png)](https://americasworkforceradiopodcast.podbean.com/) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/YouTube_button.png?width=125&name=YouTube_button.png)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuQo1PAtRAel1_tS7-PQOkA)   #### [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/brotherhood-of-railroad-signalmen-on-the-union-pacific-merger-threat) : July 6, 2026 # Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat Brandon Elvey, Secretary-Treasurer of the [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen](https://www.brs.org/),... 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