Some Unions Go Into Attack Mode on Trump's V.P. Pick J.D. Vance—Except One Notable One Offers Praise
Less than three hours after Trump's announcement, several major unions released a barrage of negative statements against the Ohio senator and vice-presidential pick.
By Peter List, Editor | July 15, 2024
Within hours of former President Donald Trump choosing Senator J.D. Vance [R-OH] as his vice presidential running mate, some major unions—whose policy fortunes rest in the next Oval Office occupant—have launched attacks against Vance’s candidacy.
Vance, a 39-year-old freshman Senator and former Trump critic, is an Ohio native, a former marine, an undergraduate from Ohio State University, and a graduate of Yale Law School. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022. [See bio here.]
Though a political newcomer, Vance’s personal story is already known by millions who read his 2016 best-selling book Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, as well as the 2020 Ron Howard-directed film Hillbilly Elegy, which starred Glenn Close and Amy Adams.
Trump’s pick of Vance comes on the first day of the Republican National Convention and two days after a would-be assassin wounded Trump and critically injured two others, as well as killed a spectator at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Within hours of Trump’s announcement, certain unions took to social media to criticize Vance.
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, whose labor federation re-affirmed its commitment to re-electing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris just last week despite widespread doubt from Democrats of Biden’s cognitive abilities, issued a press release calling a Trump-Vance ticket a “corporate CEO’s dream and a worker’s nightmare.”
Shuler stated [in part]:
Sen. JD Vance likes to play union supporter on the picket line, but his record proves that to be a sham. He has introduced legislation to allow bosses to bypass their workers’ unions with phony corporate-run unions, disparaged striking UAW members while collecting hefty donations from one of the major auto companies, and opposed the landmark Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would end union-busting “right to work” laws and make it easier for workers to form unions and win strong contracts.
The CWA reposted the AFL-CIO’s post on X (formerly Twitter) as well.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) reposted the AFL-CIO’s X (formerly Twitter) post, stating:
In Vance's own words, he wants to "fire every single mid-level bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state." Federal workers deserve better. Working people deserve better. That's why we're sticking with Biden.
The Service Employees International Union’s (SEIU) President April Verrett issued a press release stating [in part]:
J.D. Vance may portray himself as a working class hero, but his record tells another story. The truth is that Senator Vance’s loyalties lie with the Wall Street bankers and Silicon Valley billionaires who have bankrolled his political career. Together, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance will seek to protect the wealthy and corporations while enacting their insidious Project 2025 agenda. There’s a stark contrast between Biden-Harris, who have backed workers and taken action to lower prices and raise wages, and Trump-Vance who side with price-gouging, union-busting corporations.
Although many unions have not weighed in on Trump’s pick yet, aside from have weighed in have been negative toward Vance, one notable exception is Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who praised Vance on Fox News’ Neil Cavuto.
O’Brien, as was noted here, will be addressing the RNC convention Monday night. During his Cavuto interview, O’Brien noted that, unlike Trump and the RNC, the Democratic National Committee had not responded to his request to speak at their convention.
On Monday afternoon, Reuters reported that, unlike the vast majority of other unions, the Teamsters may not endorse any presidential candidate this year.
