Union Voters Are Mad at Everyone

The Washington Post interviewed 27 rank-and-file workers at the AFL-CIO convention in Minneapolis. Nearly all disapproved of Trump — including the 10 current or recent Republicans and independents. Most also slammed the Democrats.

They didn’t swing from one party to the other. They’re disillusioned with both parties.

The numbers tell the trend. In 2024, Kamala Harris won 53% of union households to Trump’s 45% — down from Biden’s margin in 2020. The old assumption that labor votes as a Democratic bloc keeps weakening.

What’s driving this shift? Per the workers quoted: food prices, gas, layoffs, the sense that nobody’s fighting on economics. One Wisconsin insulator put it plainly — “Working people seem to keep getting missed, and we’re the ones that vote.”

The AFL-CIO pledged to mobilize 16 million union-household voters this fall. The question isn’t turnout. It’s who they vote for — if anyone.