Georgia union advocates praise Biden labor policy, rally behind Harris-Walz

At the rally, Nicole Fears, the human rights director of the IAM, praised Biden for joining the United Auto Workers picket line in Wayne County, Michigan, last September.

“Whether or not I’m a Republican or Democrat, I believe the Biden administration has been more friendly towards labor,” she told WABE.

Fears said workers benefit from Biden’s policies such as the student debt loan forgiveness plan and the Inflation Reduction Act, which lowers prescription drug costs for seniors.

“That’s changing people’s lives. Therefore, they can go into the workplace and work without the threat of debt, and I do believe that in itself helps our environment as workers,” she said.

State Rep. Dewey McClain, a Democrat in Lilburn, points to Biden’s efforts to pass the PRO Act, which would expand the scope of people protected by fair labor standards.

McClain, who formerly served as the president of the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council of the AFL-CIO, said unions help raise the standards for wages and benefits even for non-union workers.

“I want people to understand that if you have a pro-union or a pro-labor president, that means that everybody is gonna rise,” he said.

Caroline Fohlin, an economics professor at Emory University, said Biden’s efforts to increase pay counteract higher sticker prices.

“Inflation has been a real drag on purchasing power, but at the same time, there have been some increases in real wages,” she said, adding that the U.S. is also experiencing disinflation, meaning the rate of inflation is decreasing.

Biden has touted himself as the most pro-union president in American history. Though unions have historically voted blue, historian David Zonderman of North Carolina State University said Democratic presidents haven’t always done a lot for labor. Biden’s administration, he said, is “quite a change from the past half a century.”

Historically, Zonderman said, labor unions have found it especially difficult to organize in the South, partly because the South was largely an agrarian society, and partly because business owners in the South fought against unions that sought to organize both Black and White workers.

But now, he said, “the whole country is the South. Unionization rates are down everywhere.”

Today, Georgia is one of many right-to-work states, meaning workers are not required to join a union or pay union dues, though non-union members may benefit from union bargaining.

Nevertheless, Zonderman said the Biden administration has been “encouraging.” 

“I think there are glimmers now.”

From Biden-Harris to Harris-Walz

Now that Biden has dropped out of the presidential race, union advocates expect Harris, who is now the Democratic nominee, to follow his lead.

“I think Harris is going to pick up right where Biden left off,” said J.R. Richardson, the business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1579.

Harris has already earned the endorsement of several major unions and continues to bolster outreach to them. In a recent rally in Detroit, Harris and newly-minted running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke to members of the United Auto Workers.

One of the major unions endorsing Harris this November is the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Verdaillia Turner, the president of the Georgia chapter of the AFT, said she and the organization support Harris because “she’s humane, she’s fair, she’s decent and she’s what we need at this time.”

Turner also applauded Harris’ progressive track record on a number of policy issues. Most recently, Harris forewent picking apparent frontrunner Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate in favor of Walz. Last year, Shapiro backed a proposal for private school vouchers for low-income families, a measure unpopular among teachers unions.

In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill awarding vouchers worth up to $6,500 to pay for private school education for children attending the bottom quartile of lowest-performing public schools.

“The hopefully soon President-elect Harris is anti-voucher,” Turner said. “Here in Georgia, I know we are going to continue to push – and we were working on it this morning – to reverse the voucher legislation.”

Other unions that have endorsed Harris include the UAW, the AFL-CIO, and UNITE HERE. After Harris announced Walz as her running mate, he also earned the praise of several national unions including the National Education Association and the AFT, which both claim Walz as a former member.

The Republican Party

On the other hand, major national unions have taken a considerably cooler stance toward the Republican ticket.

UAW filed federal labor charges against Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk following a Monday interview on X where Trump advocated for the termination of workers on strike, which would be illegal if workers were participating in a lawful strike.

Despite Sen. JD Vance of Ohio’s attempts to reach working-class Americans, the AFL-CIO has also called into question Trump’s running mate for his policy record, which it claims benefits big businesses over labor.

Republicans have recently shown support for unions, such as inviting Teamsters President Sean O’Brien speak at the Republican National Convention — though O’Brien did not endorse Trump during his speech.

Dave Jackson, who has been a union member for 10 years, says he isn’t set on either party and will support any president who will help unions. 

“It’s refreshing to see members of the right leaning toward unions and leaning toward labor. Let’s hope that it’s not just for votes,” he said.

Though union leaders in Georgia appear to be united behind Harris, according to Richardson, rank-and-file members are split on who to support in November.

“I think a lot of people are intimidated by the fact that there could be a woman president,” he said. “I truly believe that, and I think that that’s where some people may be undecided.”

Part of the reason why some workers may support Trump this election cycle is his stance toward immigration, said Fohlin. 

“Undocumented immigrants coming across the southern border, taking your jobs, is a very common piece of rhetoric that you hear in the Trump campaign and a lot of Republicans talk like that,” Fohlin said. “So you could construe that as pro-worker, even if it’s not really accurate.”

The Trump campaign in Georgia did not respond to a request for comment.

The next president would have a large role in shaping the future of union organizing.

At the beginning of Biden’s term, he nominated Jennifer Abruzzo as the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, which helps conduct union elections and settles labor disputes.

Zonderman said Abruzzo “is probably the most forward-leaning general counsel on the board they’ve had since the 1930s or ’40s,” which is “pretty exceptional.” If Trump returns to office, Zonderman said he will likely remove Abruzzo and install a general counsel hostile to labor.

Additionally, Biden has renominated Lauren McFerran to the NLRB chair position and nominated labor attorney Joshua Ditelberg to the Republican seat. But if they are not confirmed by November and Trump wins the White House, he could install a Republican majority on the board.

Ultimately, a small portion of undecided voters will likely decide who gets to shape federal labor policy in the U.S. Fohlin said these voters will be focused on issues that affect their day-to-day lives, such as medical care, child care, job retention and debt.

“Am I convinced that a Harris administration is going to be good for my kitchen table issues?” Fohlin said. “That’s a huge issue for workers. Am I going to have a job?”