Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz hit the stage at a labor union convention in southern California on Aug. 13, touting his teaching background and pro-worker message in his first solo appearance since joining the Democratic Party ticket last week.
“The vice president and I, we know exactly who built this country. It was nurses, it was teachers, and it was state and local government employees that built this nation,” Walz said in a Los Angeles ballroom filled with thousands of members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union.
“People in this room built the middle class. That’s not just a saying, it’s a fact: when unions are strong, America is strong.”
Since launching her campaign on July 21, Vice President Kamala Harris has scored endorsements from multiple labor unions.
In addition to the 1.4-million-member AFSCME, Harris was also endorsed by the United Auto Workers (UAW), hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE, and the AFL-CIO.
The Teamsters Union, whose president spoke at this year’s Republican National Convention, has not made a presidential endorsement this cycle.
Walz began his 5-state tour—taking him through Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York—in Harris’ home state of California. Walz headlined a private campaign fundraiser in Newport Beach on Aug. 13.
In his AFSCME speech, Walz discussed being a “dues-paying member of my teachers’ union for years” and his efforts as governor of Minnesota to secure paid family and medical leave for workers.
“We will stand together on the fundamental principle to collectively bargain for your own lives and your own jobs,” he said of himself and Harris.
Walz championed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and criticized former President Donald Trump for expressing past support for “right to work” laws, which block unions from making contractual agreements with employers, including those that may compel employees to join.
Trump, while speaking with the South Carolina Radio Network during his 2016 presidential campaign, said he had “great support” from union workers, but expressed “love” for the “right to work.”
“It is better for the people. You are not paying the big fees to the unions,” Trump said.
When Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Steve King (R-Iowa) introduced the National Right to Work Act, the Trump administration affirmed its support for “right to work” laws.
“The president believes in the right to work. He wants to give workers and companies the flexibility to do what’s in the best interest for job creators,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters during a Feb. 3, 2017, press conference.
California has not voted for a Republican president since George H.W. Bush in 1988.
The GOP has often turned to the state as an example of the downstream effects of liberal policies—pointing to its high taxes, homelessness crisis, and rising housing costs.
In his final remarks, Walz said the Democratic Party faces a tough race heading into November.
“You don’t hope to win. You plan, prepare, and work to win.”
