AFL-CIO Endorses Hillary Clinton for President

by Pablo Ros | June 16, 2016

The 12.5-million member AFL-CIO voted today to endorse Sec. Hillary Clinton for President of the United States, ending a yearlong process that sought to capture the interests of the working people it represents.

In a press release, the largest federation of labor said it would immediately begin to “put in motion its ground campaign to elect Hillary Clinton and union-endorsed candidates across the country.” AFL-CIO Pres. Richard Trumka said Secretary Clinton has throughout her campaign “demonstrated a strong commitment to the issues that matter to working people, and our members have taken notice.”

He added that working people’s activism “has already been a major force in this election and is now poised to elect Hillary Clinton and move America forward.”

AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders, who is chair of the AFL-CIO Political Committee, said the choice in this year’s Presidential election was clear.

“This election offers a stark choice between an unstoppable champion for working families and an unstable charlatan who made his fortune scamming them,” he said. “Working people know that Hillary Clinton has the temperament and experience to unite all Americans in our fight to increase incomes at home and extinguish threats abroad.”

AFSCME endorsed Secretary Clinton back in October 2015, when our union’s 35-member International Executive Board voted overwhelmingly in support of her. This endorsement was based on overwhelming feedback from AFSCME members collected over six months, including polling data showing nearly two thirds of AFSCME members intended to vote for her in the Democratic primary.

Since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee, Secretary Clinton has continued to receive the support of AFSCME members.

“The choice between Secretary Clinton and Donald Trump could not be clearer,” said President Saunders. “Trump is a dangerous and unstable demagogue who thinks American wages are too high and has called for gutting workers’ rights. Public service workers are ready to hit the streets to make sure he gets nowhere near the White House.”