Gov. Tim Walz greeted delegates to the 2021 State Building and Construction Trades convention. (UA file)
Vice President Kamala Harris picked Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, and Minnesota labor leaders called it the perfect choice.
“The rest of the country is about to find out what working Minnesotans have known for years – Tim Walz is one of us who fights for working people like us every single day,” Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham said.
Burnham, who leads the state’s largest labor federation, was among dozens of elected union officers who signed a letter to Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, touting Walz’s credentials for the job of vice president.
Several also joined a Capitol press conference July 30 in St. Paul to make Walz’s case.
“What better way to continue the most pro-worker administration than to have the most pro-worker governor in the nation serve as our vice president?” Burnham said.
Labor leaders ticked off a list of legislative accomplishments in the state since Walz, a former teacher turned congressman, won the state’s governorship in 2018. Most came after he won re-election in 2022, when DFLers also won control of both the House and Senate.
The governor did not back down from an opportunity to be bold, signing legislation long sought by unions and worker advocacy groups, including:
- New benefits like paid family leave and earned sick and safe time, covering most workers in the state.
- Expanded collective bargaining rights, making it easier for workers at the University of Minnesota to unionize and for educators to bargain for student-centered priorities like lower class sizes. Walz also signed a ban on anti-union “captive audience” meetings.
- New enforcement tools to crack down on wage theft, including tougher penalties.
- A first-in-the-nation Nursing Home Standards Board that will improve wages and working conditions to address short staffing in the industry.
- Historic investments in public education and infrastructure.
Joel Smith, president and business manager of LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, representing over 14,000 laborers in the state, credited Walz’s pro-infrastructure policies with delivering “tens of thousands of construction jobs fixing our roads and bridges and water infrastructure.”
Tim Walz talked with union members at a Helmets to Hardhats event in Duluth during his first campaign for governor. (UA file)
Smith also noted Walz’s strong support for prevailing wage, which the state recently expanded to cover developments that tap into low-income housing tax credits. That means more opportunities for union tradespeople, he said.
“With Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, your paycheck is safe, your health care is secure and your pension is protected,” Smith said.
Walz’s record isn’t the only reason he makes the best pick for vice president, labor leaders said. The governor, who was a member of Education Minnesota when he worked as a Mankato teacher, also brings a middle-class perspective and work ethic to Harris’ campaign, which has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO and the vast majority of unions.
“We all want Kamala Harris to win, and we believe having Gov. Walz on the ticket will help her win,” Education Minnesota President Denise Specht said.
“At his core he is still a teacher, and teachers get things done,” Specht added during the Capitol media event. “When you have a classroom full of students and they need your help, you know you can’t kick that can down the road. The children need you now. Every educator feels that powerful mix of urgency and responsibility, and Tim took that feeling from the classroom to Congress to his office upstairs.”
Harris quickly picked up the AFL-CIO endorsement after President Joe Biden announced his decision to end his reelection campaign July 21. Electing the Harris-Walz ticket will be the Labor 2024 campaign’s top priority this fall.
“We know that Gov. Walz will be a strong partner in the Harris White House, fighting every day to improve the lives of workers in communities across America,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement. “Gov. Walz isn’t only an ally to the labor movement, but also our union brother with a deep commitment to a pro-worker agenda.”
Walz leaned into his labor roots during his first solo campaign appearance after joining the presidential ticket Aug. 6. After a week of rallies with Harris in battleground states, including Wisconsin, Walz addressed delegates to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ national convention in Los Angeles on Aug. 13.
The governor highlighted Harris’ working-class background, and he praised her work ethic and support for organized labor. Those qualities, Walz said, stand in sharp contrast with her opponent, former President Donald Trump, who crossed a Stagehands’ picket line while filming his reality TV show.
“I saw our friend (Autoworkers President) Shawn Fain at the UAW had a name for that, he called him a scab,” Walz said. “That’s not name-calling, it’s an observation in fact, just to be clear.”
Union Advocate 