Top US workers' union leaders support Harris for presidency

CHICAGO: In a show of extraordinary solidarity, leaders of the top workers union of the US have backed Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency by highlighting the support their groups have enjoyed during the Biden-Harris administration.

Union leaders from across the nation took the stage at the Democratic National Convention here in Chicago on Monday to share a unified message: 'Workers have Vice President Harris’ back because she’s had theirs'.

Harris, 59, is scheduled to formally accept the Democratic Party's presidential nomination on Thursday to take on Republican rival Donald Trump, 78, in the November 5 election.

“We are all in for Kamala Harris because Kamala Harris has always been all in for us… She shares our vision for a modern-day labour movement, a movement that meets the needs of workers in the 21st century and an economy that is ready for the future,” said April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

“For decades, we fought for more investment in our infrastructure. While Trump made empty promises, the Biden-Harris administration delivered… Thanks to them, our members can buy a home, put their kids through school, and retire with dignity. As president, Kamala Harris will keep fighting for workers who are building America,” said Brent Booker, president of the Laborers' International Union of North America (LiUNA).

While Trump gutted workers’ rights and incentivised companies to ship jobs overseas while cutting taxes for himself and his wealthy friends, arris stands with working people and is fighting to strengthen the middle class, the union leaders alleged.

"Kamala Harris has been there for us. She’s bringing back American manufacturing to forgotten places throughout our country. She cast the deciding vote to save our pension plan," said Kenneth Cooper, President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

“An opportunity economy…where there’s no such thing as a man’s job or a woman’s job or, like Donald Trump would say, a ‘Black job.’ Just a good union job. That’s the future our president Joe Biden has fought for and that’s the future Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will keep fighting for,” said Liz Shuler, President of the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations (AFL-CIO).

As Vice President, Harris helped pass the largest investment in broadband ever. Ever, said Claude Cummings, president of the Communications Workers of America.

“Enter Joe Biden and Kamala Harris: Within weeks, they passed the American Rescue Plan, pulling the economy back from the brink and putting us back to work. They were guided by a basic principle: more freedom for working people – including the freedom to join a union. So this November, we’re moving forward with Kamala Harris as our President,” said Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.