Staff Reports
President Joe Biden made sure to remind the good folks of Nevada where he stands when it comes to unions. He didn’t hold back, telling everyone that he’s “the most pro-union president” ever. He even patted himself on the back for his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, claiming it’s created a bunch of high-paying union jobs. And just when you thought he was finished, he boasted about his plans for clean energy and high-speed rail, promising even more union jobs.
Of course, the crowd at Pearson Community Center ate it all up. They cheered and hollered, especially the members of Laborers’ International Union of North America, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. One enthusiastic attendee, Mayo Sanchez, proudly declared, “The union’s definitely for Biden.” And who could forget President Biden’s epic show of solidarity with the United Auto Workers union members during their strike last year? Yep, he made history as the first president to do it. Talk about a union love fest!
First dispatch from Nevada:
“The union’s definitely for Biden,” one attendee, Mayo Sanchez, said. A member of LIUNA, Sanchez was donned in orange alongside his fellow union members. “We’re all union workers. We just settled a big contract.”https://t.co/c1nYUQil9F
— Julia Johnson (@juliaajohnson_) February 5, 2024
But let’s not forget about former President Donald Trump, who’s been working hard to court those hardworking union folks. Trump has been cozying up to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, trying to win over those working-class voters. And even though the United Auto Workers endorsed Biden, that doesn’t mean every single member is on board.
Nevada, where all this union action is going down, is no stranger to presidential battlegrounds. In fact, it’s got a whole bunch of union members too. When Biden barely scraped by with a win in 2020, he knew he couldn’t take Nevada’s union support for granted. That’s why he was even thinking about joining the Las Vegas hotel employees on a picket line if they went on strike. Nothing says “I’m with the union” like standing shoulder to shoulder with picketing workers, right?
And if you thought Biden was done pandering to unions, think again. He’s been eyeing the Culinary Union, prepared to show up and show his support if they went on strike. But those crafty union negotiators managed to hammer out a deal at the last minute, averting a potentially awkward picket line appearance from the president.
So there you have it, folks. Biden’s playing the pro-union card for all it’s worth, hoping to lock in those union votes come election time. Will it work? Well, that’s a whole other story. But one thing’s for sure, Nevada’s union workers sure are getting a whole lot of attention these days.
