As early voting kicks off in Michigan, DNC hosts press call outlining stakes for working people across the country, underlining pro-worker agenda of Vice President Harris and Democrats up and down the ballot

Today, the DNC hosted a press call featuring DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, SEIU President April Verrett, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond, Culinary Union 226 Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge, and President of Teamsters Joint Council 43 and President of local 299 Kevin Moore to call out Trump’s extreme Project 2025 agenda that would undermine workers’ rights to unionize and contrast it with Vice President Harris’ pro-worker Opportunity Economy. The press call comes on the heels of the DNC’s newly announced voter turnout campaign directly targeting union workers. 

Union members will play a major role in deciding the outcome of this election. On the call, the speakers discussed the importance of empowering the voices of union members in this election, Vice President Harris’ record of championing policies that ensure working people thrive, and her plan to chart a new way forward for hard-working Americans. This is in stark contrast to Trump and Vance’s extreme Project 2025 agenda that would ship union jobs overseas, threaten overtime pay, and give even more tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy at the expense of middle-class families. 

With early voting already underway in several key battleground states, today’s call emphasized the stakes of this election and the importance of union members’ mobilization for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz.

Find highlights from the call below

“Union workers may well make the difference in sending Vice President Harris to the White House. At the DNC, we’re committed to reaching union members and working people nationwide to ensure they know the stakes of this election, and how the outcome will drastically affect their lives,” said DNC Chair Jaime Harrison. “That’s why, today, we are announcing our latest voter turnout initiative directly speaking to union workers. All across battleground states, we’re standing up billboards around union halls and work sites to make sure that workers clocking in and out know that Trump and his Project 2025 agenda would gut union protections and that the only way to stop him and his MAGA allies is to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. Over 100 billboards across battleground states where workers will be the deciding factor for this election.”

“This election, the members of SEIU are fighting for our fundamental values by getting union and nonunion workers alike to the polls. We have the power to make a decisive impact on this election,” said SEIU President April Verrett. “Together, we are moving forward – building on the progress this administration, in partnership with unions, has fought tooth and nail to secure. We will not go back. We are united in the belief that everyone should be able to earn a living wage and work with dignity. For the next 11 days, we’ll be organizing, mobilizing voters in every corner of the country to get out the vote and fight for the future working families deserve.”

“We’re laying out the facts about how the presidential race will have a direct impact on their rights and freedoms, and on their jobs and their ability and right to bargain for strong contracts. We’ve already had nearly 2 million conversations with union voters in our battleground states and we plan to reach out to 5 million more union voters between now and Election Day,” said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond. “This is the largest voter mobilization in our history… and we believe it is going to make the difference. There’s a lot of enthusiasm for Harris-Walz, and we’re going to put our outreach into overdrive and make every single hour and every single second count over these last 10 days.”

“Trump repeatedly attacked unions, and sat back as Nevada bled tens of thousands of jobs. Nevada’s unemployment rate reached over 30% —the highest in the country – during the pandemic under Trump’s abysmal leadership. Instead of trying to help Nevada workers, Trump walked away from overtime protections for 70,000 Nevadans, resulting in $10 million in lost wages for Nevada’s workers in 2020 alone,” said Culinary Union 226 Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge. “Now, Trump and his running mate JD Vance are doubling down on these attacks. He and his allies have been working on their ‘Project 2025’ agenda that will ship union jobs overseas and give even more tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy. If they win, working families will pay the price. Trump’s plan will raise taxes for middle-income households by [$3,900 ] in exchange for another handout to the top 0.1%. The working families I know here in Nevada cannot afford a second Trump term.”

“Trump would roll back worker protections and could put an end to collective bargaining as we know it – all while giving ultra-wealthy companies even more power to fire workers who attempt to organize, scrap decades of labor law, including laws that protect our most vulnerable, like our children, and would strip workers of their rightful, basic protections. Trump would go even further than he did in his first term and completely eliminate overtime pay,” said President of Teamsters Joint Council 43 and President of local 299 Kevin D. Moore. “That’s not all. Project 2025 would drop a cost bomb directly onto the working class and rip away protections for working people. I’m here to say: we’re not going back. Working people are the backbone of our economy – not billionaires – and we’re not going to let Trump get away with his dangerous agenda after leaving workers behind once before.”