The General Board of the AFL-CIO—representing 60 unions and more than 12.5 million workers—voted to endorse President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for re-election in 2024. The endorsement vote marks the earliest the AFL-CIO has ever voted to endorse in a presidential election, triggering an unprecedented mobilization that will engage millions of working people over the course of nearly 17 months on the Biden–Harris record of transforming the economy to one that works for all.

“There’s absolutely no question that Joe Biden is the most pro-union president in our lifetimes,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “From bringing manufacturing jobs home to America to protecting our pensions and making historic investments in infrastructure, clean energy and education, we’ve never seen a president work so tirelessly to rebuild our economy from the bottom up and middle out. We’ve never seen a president more forcefully advocate for workers’ fundamental right to join a union. Now, it’s time to finish the job. The largest labor mobilization in history begins today, supercharged by the excitement and enthusiasm of hundreds of thousands of union volunteers who will work tirelessly to re-elect a president they know has our backs and will always fight for us.”

According to the AFL-CIO press release, “There’s never been an election more critical to the future of working people. Worker organizing is happening at a pace not seen in decades, from coffee shops to tech to higher education to the manufacturing shop floor. The transition to a clean energy economy and historic federal investments in good jobs creates the opportunity to transform the economy for generations to come. But this promise will only be realized if President Biden and Vice President Harris are re-elected to another four years…

“Over the next 17 months, the labor movement will run its largest campaign ever to engage working people one on one on kitchen-table issues and President Biden’s accomplishments. The AFL-CIO’s campaign will be critical in battleground states where the union vote will prove decisive. When engaged, union members turn out at much higher rates than the general public. Millions of conversations at the door and in the worksite will be supplemented with cutting-edge digital outreach, peer-to-peer texting and other tactics to ensure we’re reaching workers on the issues that matter most to them. Hundreds of thousands of union volunteers are the backbone of this mobilization and will begin engaging voters immediately.”

“The Biden–Harris administration has consistently advanced policies that empower workers, created opportunities for everyday people, and promoted the well-being of working families,” Electrical Workers (IBEW) International President Kenneth Cooper said. “As a direct result of these efforts, the Biden–Harris administration has overseen robust economic growth, increased worker wages and achieved the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years.”

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers International President Kenneth W. Cooper issued the following statement on the announcement by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala

Harris of their candidacies for re-election: “The IBEW enthusiastically endorses President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for re-election in 2024. Together, they have led the most pro-union administration of our lifetimes and kept their promises to America’s working families. We are proud to stand with them in the critically important 2024 election.

“When the IBEW endorsed candidate Joe Biden in 2019, it was because of his commitment to creating good union jobs, protecting secure retirements, addressing climate change responsibly and investing in American manufacturing. President Joe Biden has delivered on all of these pledges: promises made and promises kept.

“Throughout his first term, President Biden has been a steadfast ally of unions and American workers. I am confident that support will continue in his second term. The Biden-Harris administration has consistently advanced policies that empower workers, created opportunities for everyday people, and promoted the well-being of working families. As a direct result of these efforts, the Biden-Harris administration has overseen robust economic growth, increased worker wages and the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years.

“President Biden’s dedication to unionism has spurred tangible wins for IBEW that will lead to good union jobs and stronger communities for decades. Without President Biden and Vice

President Harris, we simply would not have the pro-union, pro-worker policies included in the American Recovery Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act. Significantly, President Biden’s strong leadership saved IBEW pensions – a benefit every worker should enjoy – through the enactment of the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act.

“Within the first week of taking office, President Biden and Vice President Harris began appointing into the administration union officials who have dedicated their lives to advancing the labor movement’s core principles and worker’s rights, including a card-carrying union member for Secretary of Labor and a chief counsel for the NLRB who supports collective bargaining.

“President Biden has issued executive orders to reverse policies that have eroded unionists’ strength for decades, including industry-recognized apprenticeship programs (IRAPs) and rules that gutted federal employees’ collective bargaining rights. And then the Biden-Harris Administration went on the offense: mandating project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal construction projects, establishing the first-ever White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, and ensuring that skilled American workers benefit from historic federal investments.

The Ironworkers issued the following:

“President Biden is a friend to union Ironworkers,” Iron Workers General President Eric Dean said. “He has proven time and again that union workers are a priority to this administration, and we want to continue this momentum. President Biden is the right candidate for the Labor Movement.” The Ironworkers will mobilize our membership in support of Joe Biden’s campaign and urge all working Americans to support his reelection. The 2024 election will be the most important in this nation’s history. Organized labor will lead the way in protecting our democracy.