At United Steelworkers conference, members and leaders play down election divide
USW doesn't push oil workers to support Harris at convention
Union bosses and rank-and-file workers focus on contracts, legislative proposals
Past conferences featured members wearing pro-Trump MAGA caps
By Erwin Seba and Nicole Jao
PITTSBURGH, Sept 20 (Reuters) -At a meeting of United Steelworkers union officials this week, presidential politics was off the agenda, a departure from past election-year gatherings and a sign of the division between USW members and union bosses over the candidates.
The leadership of the USW - a union of 1.2 million U.S. and Canadian workers from the steel, paper and energy industries as well as government workers -in July endorsed Democratic party candidate Kamala Harris, handing her an early victory just a day after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race against RepublicanDonald Trump.
But USW officialsfailed to mention Harris by name or ask the 300 local officials at a national oil bargaining conference to recommend members to campaign or vote for her. Still,attendees did see presentations about legislative proposals the union is pursuing in Congress and with the Biden administration.
The omission underscores the tensions within union ranks ahead of theNov. 5 election, a race that polls show is essentially tied - leaving the outcome dependent on how union workers and others in battleground states vote. Union workers have traditionally formed a core part of the Democratic base but the dynamic has shifted in recent election cycles with Trump peeling away support from working-class, white voters.
Most oil workers come from states like Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and California that are not expected to be decisive in determining the outcome of the election.
Other major unions like the United Auto Workers have also backed the Harris campaign. Butthe powerful Teamsters union on Wednesday dealt a blow to her campaign by choosing not to endorse either presidential candidate.
The 1.3-million-member transportation workers union last failed to endorse a Democrat, President Bill Clinton, in 1996. The Teamsters released two surveys of rank-and-file membership that showed they prefer Trumpover Harris.
Trump used the Teamsters survey results to proclaim he had won the Teamsters' rank-and-file endorsement.
The Harris campaign declined to comment. Her campaign has previously said that Harris will fight for union workers and if elected, would work with Congress to pass legislation making it easier to organize and "end union busting once and for all."
The oil-bargaining conference, just six weeks before the election, was also unlike prior conferences that featured dozens of members wearing pro-Trump MAGA red baseball caps. Attendees in Pittsburgh have been largely silent about the presidential election, only discussing it when asked by Reuters reporters.
“I’d say 80% to 90% of USW oil workers will vote for Trump,” said a Texas union leader who asked not to be identified by name to maintain relationships within the union. However, he said “out of the entire USW, the majority will vote for Harris.”
BEING LEFT BEHIND
The decision to avoid discussing the election, according to a regional official, was designed to prevent a public split between the USW's national and local officials in its oil bargaining group.
USW President David McCall said in an interview with Reuters that he wanted to keep the oil bargaining group members laser-focused on 2026 labor contract topics, and did not raise the election or seek a separate vote on the candidates.
"I wanted to concentrate on the oil industry itself, just generally about the community and solidarity, that's the role I'm playing," McCall said.
The national leadership's July endorsement of Harris reflected her campaign's responses to union questionnaires sent to both presidential candidates.
“[The Harris-Walz campaign] has given us the knowledge that they're in line with our priorities as a union and we just don't have any other information to compare if we don't get a response from the other,” said Mike Smith, chairperson of the USW's National Oil Bargaining Program.
Interviews with oil local officials at the conference anecdotallyrevealed a strong preference for former President Trump, with many saying the Democrats' priorities did not align with theirs.
"They believe the Democratic Party has left them behind, from the promotion of electric vehicles, which limits oil demand, to the adoption of a new stricter fuel standard that increases the cost of fuel," said one union member from Texas, who asked not to be identified by name.
A Louisiana union member attending the conference said he is voting for Trump because he is the candidate for the Republican party, which he said would protect his economic interests.
"It's not pro-Trump," said the man, who asked not be identified. "It's in my best interest. I want to keep my money."
A third official said the absence of overt political caps or campaign buttons was intentional.
“Many people here are voting for Trump, but they just don’t want to talk about it,” the union member told Reuters.
Reporting by Erwin Seba and Nicole Jao in Pittsburgh; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Washingtion, editing by Deepa Babington
Berita Terkini
Penafian: Entiti XM Group menyediakan perkhidmatan pelaksanaan sahaja dan akses ke Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian, yang membolehkan sesorang melihat dan/atau menggunakan kandungan yang ada di dalam atau melalui laman web, tidak bertujuan untuk mengubah atau memperluas, juga tidak mengubah atau mengembangkannya. Akses dan penggunaan tersebut tertakluk kepada: (i) Terma dan Syarat; (ii) Amaran Risiko; dan Penafian Penuh. Oleh itu, kandungan sedemikian disediakan tidak lebih dari sekadar maklumat umum. Terutamanya, perlu diketahui bahawa kandungan Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian bukan permintaan, atau tawaran untuk melakukan transaksi dalam pasaran kewangan. Berdagang dalam mana-mana pasaran kewangan melibatkan tahap risiko yang besar terhadap modal anda.
Semua bahan yang diterbitkan di Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian kami bertujuan hanya untuk tujuan pendidikan/maklumat dan tidak mengandungi – dan tidak boleh dianggap mengandungi nasihat kewangan, cukai pelaburan atau dagangan dan cadangan, atau rekod harga dagangan kami, atau tawaran, atau permintaan untuk suatu transaksi dalam sebarang instrumen kewangan atau promosi kewangan yang tidak diminta kepada anda.
Sebarang kandungan pihak ketiga serta kandungan yang disediakan oleh XM, seperti pendapat, berita, penyelidikan, analisis, harga, maklumat lain atau pautan ke laman web pihak ketiga yang terdapat dalam laman web ini disediakan berdasarkan "seadanya" sebagai ulasan pasaran umum dan bukanlah nasihat pelaburan. Sesuai dengan apa-apa kandungan yang ditafsir sebagai penyelidikan pelaburan, anda mestilah ambil perhatian dan menerima bahawa kandungan tersebut tidak bertujuan dan tidak sediakan berdasarkan keperluan undang-undang yang direka untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan pelaburan bebas dan oleh itu, ia dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah peraturan dan undang-undang yang berkaitan. SIla pastikan bahawa anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi mengenai Penyelidikan Pelaburan Bukan Bebas dan Amaran Risiko mengenai maklumat di atas yang boleh diakses di sini.
