A short history of Labor Day – and a look at labor politics this election.
Labor Day is the unofficial end to summer, with one last barbeque or beach visit. It is also an opportunity to think about workers and where they fit within the U.S. economy. Today I’m reading some recent articles about the significance of organized labor in 2024 – and beyond.
Of particular interest is the way in which organized labor might influence the 2024 presidential election: How will members vote? How will pundits speak about the politics of union members? Will actual union members vote the way pundits speak about them having voted? How do parties push for/against the kinds of policies that labor supports? And how do parties court labor’s membership versus how do they work with labor unions themselves?
What’s the difference between Labor Day and International Workers’ Day (May 1)?
Well, politics! And now for a little labor history. Americans saw Labor Day as more politically palatable and less radical than International Workers’ Day.
Labor Day was first celebrated in September 1882 as a parade and picnic. Workers held signs in support of the eight-hour workday. In 1884, union leaders set a deadline of May 1, 1886 for businesses to adopt the new shorter workday. When worker demands were not met, between 300,000 and 500,000 workers went on strike.
In Chicago, radical socialists and anarchists spurred on the strike. On May 3, police fired into a crowd of protesters, killing two. In response, many gathered in Haymarket Square the following day and riots ensued. Twelve people were killed, including eight police.
But some scholars say it took another strike a decade later, the Pullman Strike in Chicago, to cement Labor Day as a national holiday. Pres. Grover Cleveland helped to pass a bill making Labor Day as a national holiday in 1894. This move was a way to placate organized labor while still sending in federal troops to suppress the strike (killing as many as 30 people).
Unions and the party conventions in 2024
Union officials spoke at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions this year.
Union leaders are perhaps not particularly surprising in Democratic Party spaces. More interestingly, the selection of Gov. Tim Walz as vice presidential candidate signals a commitment to many of the types of labor policies popular in Minnesota. For example, Walz expanded occupational health and safety in the state during his time as governor. By enforcing stricter workplace guidelines, fewer workers contracted diseases like covid or had accidents on the job.
This prioritization of workplace safety contrasts sharply with plans to relax workplace guidelines and to minimize consequences for employers who violate occupational health in Project 2025. This series of policy goals, published by the Heritage Foundation, may or may not be a central feature of the Republican ticket’s agenda.
A surprise at the Republican convention
In July Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, became the first Teamster official to speak at the Republican National Convention (RNC). But why? Fair question.
O’Brien received pushback from his union, but was still there. His presence prompted a series of conversations about where labor fits within the Republican Party coalition – and if unions are still central to Democrats.
O’Brien has stated that he asked both parties to address their conventions, and the RNC granted him a platform. Speaking at the Republican convention might signal to Democrats not to take union support for granted in the November election. Alternatively, speaking at the RNC could give the Republican Party legitimacy as a party that prioritizes labor policies, without its elected officials having to vote in support of those policies.
Union members aren’t universally Democrats
O’Brien’s decision may have pleased some members of the Teamsters, even if it displeased many others. The media conversation around whether organized labor will side with Republicans has recurred in each election cycle, with the specter of Reagan Democrats looming large.
Of course, union members are not universally Democratic voters and never have been. They’re diverse. Union members are often less conservative than similarly situated non-union members – but not less conservative than all people generally. In other words, an older white man in a union tends to look slightly less conservative than an older white man who is not in a union.
Don’t expect the GOP to support labor issues
However, there’s little evidence that Donald Trump, or JD Vance, or other Republicans plan to support labor policies. And, as others have noted, conventions are a coronation pageant – not a place to get new ideas passed into law.
O’Brien may have singled out VP candidate JD Vance as someone that would help Teamsters. But this move is helping to legitimize a senator who voted with the AFL-CIO 0% of the time. By the same metric, the average Republican in the U.S. Senate voted with the AFL-CIO 3% of the time – so not much better. Vance also co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to bring back company unions. The name gives the illusion of a union but this legislation instead reasserts employer power in labor relations.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) recently claimed that he would no longer support Right to Work legislation that makes it illegal for employers to force workers to join a union. Voters in his state rejected this legislation, and Hawley and has begun showing up to picket lines. However, his voting record, and his outspoken comments against workers, don’t match his new photographs. Roughly half of U.S. states have adopted Right to Work legislation, which union leaders claim is designed to undermine workers’ ability to unionize.
And Trump remains as corporate-focused as he ever was. Take, for example, the recent UAW strikes in Michigan. When Pres. Joe Biden joined the picket line, the Trump campaign instead went to a nonunion auto-parts manufacturer, where the GOP candidate spoke to workers who were not unionized as though they were.
Last month, the New York Times published a provocatively titled analysis, “Can the G.O.P. Really Become the Party of Workers?” This sort of piece demonstrates the ongoing public conversation about where labor fits within the two parties. But for the Republican Party to become more pro-worker, it would take massive shifts in the policies they support.
Both parties, thus, are still grappling with the big question: How will union members vote in November?
Laura C. Bucci is a 2024-2025 Good Authority fellow.
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