Kamala Harris struggling to win the support of male voters in major labor unions

By lauraharris // 2024-11-03

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Vice President Kamala Harris is now facing lower-than-expected support from male union members, whose participation is essential in mobilizing Democratic voters. Historically, labor unions have been among the staunchest allies of the Democratic Party, but former President Donald Trump has made significant inroads among union workers in recent years. For instance, when the United Auto Workers (UAW) union executive board announced their endorsement for Harris in July, one of the UAW members revealed that the membership's support for Trump was stronger than the level of support the UAW's leadership is publicly claiming. "We've got two people to choose from… I'm throwing in with the one who at least has a record of being interested in manufacturing and preserving it in this country," said Chris Vitale, a UAW member for 30 years and employee at Stellantis. Similarly, the 1.3-million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters refused to endorse a candidate in September when an internal poll showed that former president Donald Trump led Harris by a significant margin of 59.6 percent to 34 percent. (Related: Harris-Walz campaign is trying to win male voters by pushing pornography and abortion.) This issue is particularly pronounced within building trader unions, those that represent laborers like electricians and pipe fitters, which have predominantly male and White memberships. But this phenomenon is not limited to them. Male members of service unions that are larger and more diverse are also turning away from Harris.

Harris is perceived as "not being presidential"

Liz Shuler, the president of the 12.5 million-member American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), associated the dampening support for Harris on sexism within some union circles. "Let's be honest, there are people who look at a female candidate and at face value dismiss her because, you know, she's perceived as not being presidential," she said. "No one questions Donald Trump in that way." This statement reflects the report of many AFL-CIO door knockers that many households feel disillusioned with Harris and relate more to Trump. Meanwhile, James Maravelias, the head of the Delaware AFL-CIO, noted that weaker support for Harris among male union members was due to her liberal stance on social issues and underlying male chauvinism. "I am afraid some won't come out at all," Maravelias said about the potential impact of diminished turnout on Election Day. But Harris claimed the country is now "absolutely" ready to elect a female president. "Come to my events and you will see there are men and women," Harris said at her official residence in the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. "The experience that I am having is one in which it is clear that regardless of someone's gender, they want to know that their president has a plan to lower costs, that their president has a plan to secure America in the context of our position around the world." "My challenge is the challenge of making sure I can talk with and listen to as many voters as possible and earn their vote," she continued. "And I will never assume that anyone in our country should elect a leader based on their gender or their race, instead that that leader needs to earn the vote based on substance and what they will do to address challenges and to inspire people." Head over to KamalaWatch.com for more stories on the Democratic presidential candidate. Watch the video below that talks about Kamala Harris, who laughs "crazily at stuff that's not funny." This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

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Harris is perceived as "not being presidential"

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