WASHINGTON—Unions and progressive groups that went all-out for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris reacted with dismay but also defiance and determination to continue their struggles after her loss to convicted felon and ex-president, Republican Donald Trump.
With three swing states left to be called—Arizona, Nevada, and Michigan—Trump had already achieved the electoral votes he needed to retake the White House in January. The Associated Press called the race for Trump in the early morning hours of November 6 when another “purple” state, Wisconsin, swung into his column.
Trump’s past and planned policies, and those of his fellow Republicans, converted into a pro-Trump cult, include anti-union legislation and appointments, a national ban on abortions, unleashing right-wing Israeli imperialist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Israeli state’s neighbors—even more than Democratic President Joe Biden did—arresting and deporting eleven million undocumented people, slamming tariffs on all imports and cutting taxes on corporations and the rich while raising them on everyone else.
Many organizations, including the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, the Teamsters, and green groups, scrambled on November 6 to issue immediate reactions, pending further analysis, a survey of their websites and social media feeds showed. Labor’s Council for Latin American Advancement called a mass meeting of its members for the next evening, via Zoom, to discuss the next moves.
The criminal corporate class cheered Trump’s win in two ways, by statements, including one from anti-worker megabillionaire Jeff Bezos. He called Trump with congratulations, media reports said. Financial markets rose in anticipation of salivating over Trump’s plans to cut their taxes and deregulate, too.
So did the stock of Tesla, owned by fellow multi-billionaire Elon Musk, a worker hater who made news by handing out million-dollar checks to Trump supporters in Pennsylvania in the campaign’s closing days. Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa., a former state Attorney General, said those could be taken as bribes.
Unions and interest groups who commented laced defiance into their dismay. One, Painters President Jimmy Williams, who campaigned in Philadelphia—and, news reports said, ran into some blue-collar resistance there—criticized the Democratic Party’s attitudes.
The UAW put out a call right after the election for a solidarity campaign, calling on all workers—UAW and non-UAW, union and non-union—to stand up in solidarity and unite against the billionaire class.
“If you’re ready to stand up to the billionaires, we’re ready to stand with you,” they said. “It’s not about who you voted for. It’s not about where you work. It’s not about where you’re from. It’s about what you’re willing to fight for to take back our dignity as the working class.”
“It’s time for Washington, DC to put up or shut up, no matter the party, no matter the candidate. Will our government stand with the working class, or keep doing the bidding of the billionaires? That’s the question we face today. And that’s the question we’ll face tomorrow. The answer lies with us. No matter who’s in office,” union President Shawn Fain added.
“The Democratic Party has continued to fail to prioritize a strong, working-class message that addressed issues that really matter to workers,” Painters President Williams said. “The party did not make a positive case for why workers should vote for them, only that they were not Donald Trump.
“Rather than offer a positive agenda on what immigrant workers bring to our country,” he continued, “they bought into the punitive, ‘tough,’ anti-worker messaging championed by Trump, even though we know it’s the bosses’ fault.
“Working people deserve a party that understands this, one that puts them first and places their issues front and center,” Williams said.
“Last night, we saw fear and anger win,” Teachers President Randi Weingarten opened her remarks. Her union and three other big public worker unions—the National Education Association, the Service Employees, and AFSCME—staged a joint last weekend coast-to-coast blitz for Harris. It was part of a record union get-out-the-vote effort. But unions and their allies were outspent and then outvoted.
“Over the next few weeks, there will be a lot of ‘could have, should have, would have.’ But the bottom line for most people who voted—and we saw many of them as we crisscrossed the country—was ‘Who will help us improve our lives, the lives of our families, and our communities?’
“We believed it was Kamala Harris; more people believed it was Donald Trump.”
“Many people today are devastated; many are excited. Many wonder whether the arc of the universe does bend to justice; many wonder whether our democratic institutions will hold.” Answers “are not knowable today, but I pray we are curious and introspective enough to understand what happened and ask how we unify the country. What binds us as Americans is far more important than what divides us.”
“While we fought for unity, inclusivity, and progress, the rhetoric of hate, fear, and division that permeated Trump’s campaign cannot be ignored,” said Amalgamated Transit Union President John Costa. “Dangerous ideas and policies that threaten to roll back years of progress” on health care, workers rights, mass transit, civil rights, women’s rights, and climate change “are all being threatened.” But Costa pledged his union would fight.
“We remain committed to advocating for the values that define our nation–equality, justice, and opportunity for all. We will continue to fight for the vulnerable, for working families, and for those who are most at risk under a Trump presidency.”
“Federal employees are sworn to uphold the law and the Constitution, and they will continue to do their jobs regardless of who sits in the White House,” said Government Employees President Everett Kelly. His union was a top Trump target in the Republican’s prior term. He called federal workers “the deep state” and tried to politicize the civil service via an executive order late in his tenure. Biden revoked it.
Kelly expects him to do so again.
“Make no mistake: Our union will not stand by and let any political leader–regardless of their affiliation–run roughshod over the Constitution and our laws. During President Trump’s first term, his administration attempted to gut many of our negotiated union contracts, downsize and relocate federal agencies at great disruption and cost to taxpayers, and replace tens of thousands of non-partisan civil servants with political appointees who would blindly do his bidding.
“Federal and D.C. government employees should be able to do their jobs without political interference, without violating their Constitutional oath, and without breaking the law – and as their elected representative, we will do everything in our power to make sure that’s possible.”
Service Employees President April Verrett was also defiant. “We are not defeated, we are determined. And we won’t back down.,” Verrett vowed. “And we’re not going to let anyone divide us based on racism, sexism, or fear.
“We are putting corporations, billionaires, and extremist politicians on notice; We see you, we know just what you’re trying to do, and we won’t back down. We know what it’s like to face down bullies. We know how to keep going, to care for each other, to face down systems built to keep us out of power and divided. We will fight back by organizing, mobilizing, and winning worker power.
“We will not allow anyone to take away our fundamental rights and freedoms. Hear us: When you attack just one of us, you’re attacking every worker who makes our communities, our economy, and our nation strong.”
“Corporate CEOs are intent on dividing us against each other so they can drive down wages and cut corners on safety to boost profits for big investors. We cannot let that happen,” Communications Workers President Claude Cummings said.
A time of challenge
“This is a time of challenge and transformation for our union and our country. We have faced difficult challenges before. We must move forward, together, as we fight for our families and our country’s future.
While Trump kept trumpeting he would jail and then deport millions of undocumented people, Democrats, and their progressive allies thought that threat would motivate Latino voters to cast ballots for Harris. UnidosUS said that the assumption was wrong. The economy was atop Latinos’ minds, it added.
Latinos were driven by “pocketbook issues, including the cost of living, jobs and the economy, housing affordability and health care costs,” UnidosUS said.
Trump had forecast he would win a majority of Latinos. UnidosUS said that was wrong, too, though he did win a higher share of Latino votes than in his last run four years ago, 53% to 44% for Harris. Harris won the Latinos in the biggest swing state, Pennsylvania, 72%- 26%.
“We cannot sugarcoat this moment: Our democracy is in crisis,” said Public Citizen co-presidents Robert Weissman and Lisa Gilbert. “A second Trump administration will usher in a new wave of grifters, corporate lackeys, and right-wing extremists intent on enriching themselves and enacting an extreme agenda the majority of Americans disagree with. Our institutions and agencies will face existential threats to their ability to function on behalf of the American people.
“Public Citizen and our allies are prepared for this moment. Together, we will mobilize Americans to resist Trump’s agenda of cruelty and corruption. We will shine a spotlight on his corporate giveaways and self-enriching scams. We will fight for science, evidence, and sanity in our health and climate policy. We will fight to keep non-partisan civil servants from being summarily fired.”
Around 3 million fewer voters picked Trump in 2024, but upwards of 15 million fewer voters cast their ballot for Harris. Despite predictions of the 2024 general election having a historic turnout, the results afterwards tell a different story.
Two groups surveyed mentioned the Biden administration’s support for the right-wing nationalist Israeli Netanyahu government’s war on Gaza. Both J Street and the Muslim-American Public Affairs Council oppose the war. J Street tied Trump’s domestic and foreign policies and Netanyahu’s war together and promised to keep its drive going against both.
“We will step forward to lead Jewish political opposition not just to what Donald Trump may try to do to our country, our democracy, and our foreign policy–but to the policies of Netanyahu and the extreme right in Israel,” J Street President Jeremy Ben Ami said.
“The overwhelming majority of Jewish Americans oppose the politics and policies of both Trump and Netanyahu. We understand the threats they pose are intertwined. It’s not surprising that the same forces that don’t oppose Netanyahu and the Israeli right are silent about Trump and the danger he poses to our democracy.
“That’s why I promise you that J Street will lead our community’s loud and potent opposition to both of these leaders and their dangerous agendas.”
The Muslim group chose to respond to Trump’s recognition of “the importance of unity among all communities, including American Muslims and Arab Americans,” regardless of whether it was sincere. “As he begins his new term, we will expect his administration to uphold the constitutional rights of all Americans and to provide a government that works for everyone—regardless of background or belief.
“We call on President Trump and his team to ensure that the voices of all Americans are heard. Many in our communities are in pain from a genocide that has taken the lives of over 50,000 innocent Palestinians. Voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, and many other states around the nation voted against President Biden’s policy of enabling genocide. This was partly what ushered President Trump into office.”
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