Kamala Harris struggles to secure men's support in labor unions
Sexism and racism factor in US election efforts
Union votes crucial for Democrats in battleground states
Trump makes inroads, posing a challenge for Harris
Harris' support among women in unions remains strong
By Jarrett Renshaw and Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) -With the U.S. election days away, Vice President Kamala Harris is struggling to secure the support of male volunteers in some labor unions whose phone calls and house visits are needed to get Democratic supporters out to vote, senior labor officials said.
Most unions have long supported Democratic candidates, and both Harris and President Joe Biden have backed unions in contract negotiations and championed workers' rights.
But Republican candidate Donald Trump, who was president from 2017-2021, has made inroads with union workers in recent years and any drop in support for Harris could be a decisive factor in the neck-and-neck race.
If elected, Harris would make U.S. history as the first female and second Black president, and sexism and racism have been seen as a hurdle to her winning.
Liz Shuler, president of the 12.5 million-member AFL-CIO, said enthusiasm for Harris is strong overall but sexism is likely undermining support for her in some unions.
"Let's be honest, there are people who look at a female candidate and at face value dismiss her because, you know, she's perceived as not being presidential," she said. "No one questions Donald Trump in that way."
Finding these men at home can be a challenge and the AFL-CIO is addressing the problem instead by visiting men at their job sites, where chances of a conversation to address their concerns are much higher, she said.
The problem is especially acute within the building trades unions like electricians and pipefitters, whose members are predominantly male and white.
Larger service unions, where membership is more diverse, have witnessed a growing gender gap, where a drop in male support has been offset by a surge in support from women, labor officials say.
It's part of a phenomenon playing out across the country that could be a pivotal factor in the election, Reuters polling shows - Harris is gaining with women, especially white women, while Trump is polling better with men than he was in 2020.
James Maravelias, head of the Delaware AFL-CIO, said Harris' support among male members has been weaker in part because of her liberal track record on social issues and in part because of male chauvinism.
"I am afraid some won't come out at all," Maravelias said about potential impact on Election Day.
In interviews, AFL-CIO door knockers said some households view Harris and Democrats as strong defenders of union rights while others have lost faith in the Democratic Party and see more common ground with Trump.
“The men are the toughest doors,” said one of six door knockers interviewed. “They want to argue and there’s no agreement on the facts.”
An AFL-CIO-led door-knocking effort in the Philadelphia area was forced to narrow its focus to known Harris supporters after an expected wave of volunteers failed to materialize, according to a local organizer.
Most major unions have endorsed Harris, including the United Auto Workers union, but it is a mixed picture at the rank-and-file level across industries and different parts of the country.
POLL FAVORS HARRIS, BUT WILL IT BE ENOUGH TO HELP HER WIN?
Support for Harris remains strong in Racine, Wisconsin, said Richard Glowacki, chairman of the UAW Local 180, which represents workers at a CNH Industrial's sprawling tractor factory on the outskirts of that faded blue-collar city.
He called demand for Harris' and other Democrats' yard signs "unreal" and said retirees are actively getting out the vote.
But the 1.3 million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing workers ranging from airline pilots to zookeepers, decided not to endorse a candidate in this election after a poll of members found Trump led Harris by 59.6% to 34%.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Harris leading Trump 47%-36% among Americans who were union members or had a family member in a union. The survey of 655 union household respondents was held Oct 16-21 and had a margin of error of about 4 percentage points.
In the 2020 election, Biden had a 16-point advantage over Trump - 56% to 40% - in an Edison Research poll of people who lived in households with a union member.
Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for the Harris campaign, said steep losses in support among non-college educated males could be made up by gains from non-college educated women. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
UNION VOTES MATTER
Union workers make up one-fifth of the voters in battleground states Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, says the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the country that counts several building trades unions among its members.
The three states, known as the "Blue Wall" for their importance to Democrats, are among the seven battlegrounds that will decide Tuesday's presidential election.
Unions are also key to Democrats' "Get out the vote" efforts in these states, and their members traditionally knock on thousands of doors ahead of elections to rally voters.
Harris, who is also of South Asian origins, has dismissed concerns that sexism could hurt her chances of winning the White House, saying the country is "absolutely" ready to elect a female president.
Jimmy Williams, president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), which has over 140,000 members, said a drop in support from men is being more than offset by women within his union.
"I have spoken to women members in the states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio and I can tell you, not one woman member that I have spoken to, has been somebody who has been supportive of Donald Trump, not one," he said.
UAW endorsed Harris but will it help her win? https://www.reuters.com/world/us/uaw-endorsed-harris-president-will-it-help-her-win-michigan-2024-08-07/
Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Nandita Bose; Editing by Heather Timmons and Howard Goller
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
