A roundup of union presidents’ reactions to Kamala Harris choosing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her Vice President:
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler
“By selecting Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Kamala Harris chose a principled fighter and labor champion who will stand up for working people and strengthen this historic ticket. We know that Gov. Walz will be a strong partner in the Harris White House, fighting every day to improve the lives of workers in communities across America. Gov. Walz isn’t only an ally to the labor movement, but also our union brother with a deep commitment to a pro-worker agenda. The labor movement stands united behind the Harris–Walz ticket, and we are ready to help lead the effort to defeat Donald Trump, JD Vance, and their anti-worker Project 2025 agenda in November.”
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) International President April Verrett
“Vice President Kamala Harris has made a great decision in picking Governor Tim Walz for her running mate to defeat Donald Trump. From his time in the classroom to serving in the National Guard and Congress, Governor Walz has delivered tremendous wins for working people in Minnesota. Under his leadership, the state legislature passed the most pro-worker package of laws in decades, the Minnesota Miracle, making it easier for workers to form unions, strengthening worker protections, cracking down on union-busting practices, and creating the nation’s first nursing home workforce standards board.
“Governor Walz has been a steadfast partner to Minnesota’s working families. He walked a day in the shoes of home care workers and made record investments in public education, including unemployment benefits for bus drivers, food service workers, paraeducators and others who do essential work supporting students. He paved the way for record contracts between his administration and health care workers, raising wages to as much as $22.50 an hour. Governor Walz has championed guaranteed family and medical leave for workers and middle-class tax breaks for Minnesotans. He supported janitors and nursing home workers l when they were on strike in March, and we were proud to see him join UAW workers on the picket line during last year’s strikes.
“In contrast to the Trump-Vance ticket, who continue to spew hate and try to divide us, Governor Walz has actually championed not-yet-union workers, racial and immigrant justice and climate action. Working people will decide this election. Voters of all races and backgrounds are excited to march to the polls like never before to elect the leaders who work for us and promote them to the White House: Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz.”
United Steelworkers (USW) International President David McCall
“Vice President Harris couldn’t have chosen a stronger champion of workers to be her running mate, and the USW applauds her decision.
“From his many years of service in Congress to his time as governor of Minnesota, Gov. Walz has fought for working families every step of the way. A former union educator, he’s enacted some of the most significant pro-worker reforms in our nation’s history.
“Gov. Walz has given more workers access to paid sick and family leave; he has made major strides in protecting workers’ health and safety on the job; he has improved standards for patients and workers at Minnesota’s nursing homes; he has strengthened union organizing and collective bargaining rights; he has expanded unemployment benefits and taken steps to protect workers from wage theft and other abuses.
“In addition, Gov. Walz understands the importance of mining and manufacturing to the economy of Minnesota and to the future of this country, and he will never stop fighting for workers across all industries.
“American workers deserve leaders who fight for them every day. For four years, we’ve been fortunate to have seen exactly that kind of leadership from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. We have no doubt Tim Walz will continue that work to move our nation forward.”
AFSCME President Lee Saunders
“Tim Walz personifies what public service is all about: Doing for others and never leaving anyone behind. He learned these values while serving in the National Guard, and he lived them as a teacher and football coach in Mankato, Minnesota. He has always been the first to lend a helping hand in his community, and today, this is how he governs – empowering worker voices and defending those who have made public service a career.
“As governor, he took on billion-dollar corporations to ban private prisons in Minnesota, keeping profit motives out of the justice system while protecting the jobs of AFSCME corrections officers. He went on to pass legislation guaranteeing free breakfast and lunch for young students statewide, giving AFSCME school employees the tools they need to keep kids energized and ready to learn. Walz did all this for Minnesota’s communities while getting state workers a historic contract with across-the-board raises.
“Gov. Walz shows what our communities can look like when we lead with empathy. He is a labor champion who will take pro-worker values with him to the White House. Together with Kamala Harris, they will defend our freedoms — to care for our families, to have a voice on the job, to thrive. We look forward to mobilizing the full strength of our union to ensure that this dynamic ticket wins on Nov. 5.”
National Education Association President Becky Pringle
“The country’s educators and students have always been able to count on Vice President Kamala Harris. She has delivered once again for students, educators, and working families with the exceptional choice of Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
“Gov. Walz is known as the “Education Governor” because he has been an unwavering champion for public school students and educators, and an ally for working families and unions. As a high school teacher and NEA member Walz is committed to uplifting our public schools. He has a track record of getting things done to make people’s lives better. Walz successfully passed legislation providing free school meals to every Minnesota student, ensuring no child will have to learn on an empty stomach. He increased education spending by billions of dollars, raised teacher pay, enacted paid family and medical leave for all families, provided unemployment insurance to hourly school workers, and expanded the collective bargaining rights of Minnesotans. We know he will be a valued partner to both Vice President Harris as well as educators and parents, advocating every day, so our students have the resources they need to succeed.
“Educators are fired up and united to get out and elect the Harris-Walz ticket. We know we can count on a continued and real partnership to expand access to free school meals for students, invest in student mental health, ensure no educator has to carry the weight of crushing student debt, and do everything possible to keep our communities and schools safe.
“There is so much at stake in this election for our students and our country. Donald Trump is a convicted felon who only cares about himself. This is the same man who entrusted Betsy DeVos, the least qualified secretary of education in history, to attempt to dismantle our public schools. Trump’s extreme, unprecedented Project 2025 agenda would fundamentally alter the American government and jeopardize our children’s futures and give Trump unprecedented power over our daily lives. He wants to ban books, take learning opportunities away from students, make educators pay more in taxes than billionaires, and eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. Simply put, Donald Trump and JD Vance would be disastrous for the future of our country.
“The choice in this election couldn’t be more clear. The 3-million members of the NEA will show their power by turning out, volunteering and making their voices heard because we know that electing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz is the only way we can take America forward.”
AFT President Randi Weingarten
“Gov. Walz has been an unabashed champion for families, for public education, for educators and other workers throughout his life in public service. He knows the promise of public education. He shares our commitment to solving problems and forging a future in which all Americans can get ahead, not just get by.
“Walz and Harris are about opportunity and freedom—the freedom to join a union, the freedom to thrive, to make our own healthcare decisions, to be free from gun violence. They will stand up for the middle class against a weak, dark, dystopian alternative that wants to send us back to the past.
“Gov. Walz is a proud educator who drew on his experience in the classroom to show Minnesotans what a pro-education, pro-labor administration can look like. He is from a small town, served in the military and has consistently given back to his community. He believes the essence of America is to be kind to your neighbor and to help those around you thrive. And he is a former AFT member.
“The contrast is clear: Gov. Walz oversaw billions of dollars in increased funding to Minnesota public schools, provided free school meals to every student and guaranteed unemployment insurance to hourly school workers. Trump and Vance want to destroy educational opportunity, abolish programs that help the least well-off, and pass unaccountable voucher programs.
“Gov. Walz expanded collective bargaining rights, fought wage theft, enacted paid family and medical leave, and took on mandatory captive audience meetings. And he unreservedly supports a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health decisions. The Harris-Walz team will build on the Biden administration’s legacy as the most labor-friendly administration in history and will continue to grow our economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
“The AFT’s 1.8 million members will stand with Walz and Harris over the next 12 weeks as they campaign to realize the promise and potential of America. We will hit the road to defeat Donald Trump and JD Vance from coast to coast and keep their extremist policies out of the White House for good. The future starts here—and we are not going back.”
