Vermont AFL-CIO 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.