Pa. AFL-CIO lauds Biden as most pro-union president in decades

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The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO reacted to President Joe Biden‘s decision Sunday to step down as the presumptive Democratic nominee by applauding him for ushering in a new generation of pro-worker leaders. 

The organization stated that as union victories add up, Biden’s legacy will go down as historic. 

“President Biden is the most pro-union, pro-working family American president in generations,” the Pa. AFL-CIO said in a statement. “Today, he made an historic decision to protect our democracy by stepping down as the presumptive nominee for the Democratic presidential nomination and endorsing Vice President Harris for president.”

Comprised of 60 national and international unions representing more than 12 million active and retired U.S. workers nationally, the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) is a national trade union center and the largest federation of unions in the country.  

The Pa. AFL-CIO said that by ushering in a new generation of leaders, President Biden ensured that the fight for fairer, more just representation will continue, adding that he solidified the strides unions made during his administration.

“The president’s record for working families and labor unions is unprecedented, unrelenting, and unmistakably Joe Biden – there’s no president in a generation who has been as steadfast in his commitment to amplifying the American labor movement,” said Angela Ferritto, president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. “From lowering costs everyday people face to tackling corporate greed and greedflation to ensuring workers get their fair share of profits, he shifted the paradigm toward working people and put labor unions at the table.”

Biden announced on Sunday that he is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. The vice president was praised by the Pa. AFL-CIO.

“Let’s be very clear: Vice President Harris has been standing shoulder to shoulder with President Biden and her commitment to working people is undeniable,” said Ferrito. “Every battle—whether taking on bosses who didn’t want to pay workers their justly due overtime or getting rid of antiquated and unfair non-compete clauses—the Vice President is fighting courageously alongside President Biden to keep working America and our concerns at the forefront of the national conversation.”

Ferritto said many people reached out following Biden’s announcement Sunday to ask what it means for the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and what we’re going to do this fall.

“I’ve told them all the same thing: ‘This doesn’t change our goals, our positions, or our aspirations. We’re still going to talk to every union voter across Pennsylvania between now and November 5. Democracy is still on the ballot. The future of unions still depends on electing a president that cares more about people than profits,’” said Ferritto. “And there’s no stopping us, after the momentum built under the first term of the Biden-Harris administration. We are going to win Pennsylvania.”

Labor 2024 is the AFL-CIO effort to elect candidates who share pro-union, pro-worker values in Pennsylvania and across the U.S.