What role do unions play in the US presidential election?

People & Profit

Ahead of the November 5 US presidential election, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump have been courting union support. Some 14 million American voters are union members, and they could prove to be a deciding force in several battleground states. We take a closer look in this edition of People & Profit.

Bob Bruno, Professor of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, says there are "stark" differences between the candidates' labour proposals, which are reflected in the number of union endorsements that Harris has received.

"Those kinds of endorsements really do matter. Organised labour has lost a lot of its political clout, but even with reduced membership, it can still be a decider in national elections, particularly in many of the competitive states."

Bruno notes that in the post-pandemic era, power has shifted to workers, and led to more public support for union action. "Both the structural moment and the realisation among workers, an increased consciousness, that only through collective action could they maximise their power, has led to this moment where we see very high-profile and successful strikes, along with increased numbers of workers organising, increased numbers of workers filing complaints about management abuse, and workers winning more."

He adds that Joe Biden's presidency will be remembered for legislation that supports labour and protects workers' rights. "He justifiably has earned that moniker, as the most pro-union president in the modern era."