Donald Trump stunned the political establishment on November 8 with a knockout blow to conventional wisdom and corporate liberalism, delivered by angry working-class voters. “America’s working class has been frozen out or falling behind for three decades while the upper crust has been partying with Washington insiders and Wall Streeters from both parties,” said ILWU International President Bob McEllrath. “Trump tapped into that anger while his opponent stood for the establishment.”
The final results show that Clinton won the overall “popular” vote, but she failed to win according to America’s peculiar Electoral College system that gave Donald Trump the White House after winning the decisive “rust-belt battleground” states where working class voters, including current and former union members, chose Trump as their change agent in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Voters were hurting
“I kept meeting people at their homes around Cleveland who told me about the good jobs they used to have that were gone now because of NAFTA,” said Local 6 member Victor Pamiroyan who travelled to Ohio with Erik Ferrel of the IBU and Local 5’s Mark Sailor and Ron Solomon. The quartet hoped to win support for prounion Senate candidate Ted Strickland, but quickly came to realize how hard their task was to reach voters who had been hammered by decades of job losses. “Seeing all those empty factories as I drove into town from the airport was really shocking,” said Pamiroyan.
Anti-union history
Trump managed to win most of the working class votes – estimated to be 40% of the total – despite his clear record of anti-union behavior
“Trump’s view about unions is pretty clear,” said President McEllrath. “There were picket lines in front of Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas because workers inside couldn’t get him to negotiate and the National Labor Relations Board just filed charges ordering him to recognize and negotiate a contract. He also exploited immigrant workers on his construction jobs, sent jobs overseas for his clothing line, and told workers here in the U.S. to cut pay and benefits if they want jobs – while promising bigger tax breaks for corporations and the super-rich.”
Trump wasn’t the first anti-union candidate to win working class votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. All three states were once full of union members, and politicians were dependably pro-union until factories started closing and moving overseas in the 1970’s. The families who remained after losing their jobs and benefits became fertile ground for anti-union politicians who constantly blamed unions for “driving away jobs” while promising to put more money in people’s pockets by cutting taxes, and talking tough on crime with racial undertones. After years of this scapegoating, it became easier to attack public unions for being “greedy” when they sought pay raises and pensions.
Fertile ground for Trump By the time Trump arrived in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio, each state had been pounded for decades by runaway shops and anti-union politicians, including Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Governor John Kasich in Ohio and Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan. Walker and Snyder both advocated “right-towork” legislation, and Walker was able to strip public employees of most union rights – and won public support from many current and former union members for those policies. The final ingredient that secured anti-union political support from working class voters in the Rust Belt were “wedge issues” including abortion, gay rights, gun control and school prayer. Trump arrived in the Rust Belt prepared with talking points that fit neatly into a narrative provided by anti-union politicians who are skilled at winning working class votes. Polling by the AFL-CIO found over 40% of union members in these states were willing to vote for anti-union candidates, and claim that number fell to 30 percent after education and outreach work.
ILWU fights for workers in six battleground states
The ILWU sent small teams of union members to six key states during the final two weeks of the election: Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Missouri. After arriving, each team connected with other union members who were part of a coordinated campaign effort to contact union households and encourage them to vote for pro-union candidates. Each of the six states had a competitive U.S. Senate race where union-friendly candidates were hoping to defeat antiunion incumbents or challengers.
Getting out the vote in Florida and Ohio
“I’m an Alaska native from the Tlingit nation, so traveling to Florida was a long way from home and it was so much hotter there,” said James “Andy” Jackson. “We knocked on doors and talked with people about voting.” Pensioner W.C. “Pee Wee” Smith was also from Ketchikan, Alaska, and had a twisted ankle, so he navigated and drove Local 19 team leader Todd Weeks and Andy Jackson to each house on their route. Senate challenger Patrick Murphy was soundly defeated by antiunion incumbent Marco Rubio, who won by almost 8% and 700,000 votes. “It was amazing to meet all the immigrants from so many different countries, and most of them were supportive,” said Todd Weeks. “It was a good experience and I would definitely do it again.”
Ohio team leader Erik Ferrel’s group included Mark Sailor from Local 5 and Victor Pamiroyan from Local 6. “We spent our days knocking on doors and getting commitments to vote early,” he said. Despite the hard work by ILWU members and other union volunteers, pro-union Senate candidate and former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland was crushed by anti-union incumbent Rob Portman, who won by 21 percent and over a million votes.
Work ahead in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Missouri
ILWU Legislative Assistant Bianca Bloomquist and Local 13’s Christine Aguirre both went to Wisconsin feeling hopeful because polls showed pro-union candidate Russ Feingold was expected to win his race against anti-union incumbent Senator Ron Johnson. When it was over, Johnson, who defeated Feingold six years earlier, was able to keep his seat, winning by 3 percent and almost 100,000 votes. “After our visit, we could see there was lots of work ahead if we want to win back working class voters in Wisconsin, and now after the election results are in, it’s even more true,” said Bloomquist.
“After we were welcomed into the union campaign headquarters in Philadelphia by a big group of our union brothers and sisters, we got right into the door-to-door fight in the neighborhoods,” said team leader Dane Fredericks of Local 5. The PA team included IBU member Gary Bucknum and Local 19 member Alexandra Vekich. The Senate race pitted anti-union incumbent Senator Pat Toomey against union supporter Katie McGinty, who lost on election day by 2 percent and 100,000 votes. “We spent our days talking to union members, their families and neighbors. The reception was mixed, as we expected, but it was heartening to be out there trying to make a difference in this important election,” said Fredericks.
Missouri team leader Brent Bissett of Local 8 went to the “Show Me” state with Local 5 member Ron Solomon, and Local 10’s Melvin Mackay. “I’m happy we were able to work with the public, talk about labor issues and promote good people for office,” said Bissett. At one point as he was walking in a neighborhood, Melvyn Mackay encountered a home displaying a prominent Confederate Flag and some antiunion lawn signs. “I avoided that one,” said Mackay. Pro-union candidate Eric Kandor was unable to unseat anti-union incumbent Senator Roy Blunt who won by 3 percent and less than 100,000 votes.
Nevada success story
Team leader Regina Shore from Local 19 was joined in the Silver State by coworkers Steve Labbe and Kevin Baldado plus Keith Madding from IBU San Francisco. The Las Vegas operation was large, with many union volunteers coming daily from Southern California to assist the effort. “We did find one neighborhood full of Trump signs, and an angry supporter followed us around for three hours, tearing up the literature we were leaving at the doors, but we just ignored him,” said Shore. Nevada was the only U.S. Senate victory among the six states visited by ILWU teams across the country: pro-union candidate Catherine Cortez Masto won over anti-union challenger Joe Heck by less than 3 percent and 3500 votes. “We walked our butts off, are in better shape now, and we’d do it again in a heartbeat,” said Shore. “It was a great experience, and especially nice to see that our efforts paid off with a Senate victory.”
Local 5 member Ron Solomon talks with a Missouri voter about the issues facing working class Americans. The ILWU sent teams to support pro-union candidates in six states.