The president of the AFL-CIO said Thursday that the top 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have a better message for blue-collar workers than losing 2016 nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Richard Trumka said that candidates such as former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are talking bread and butter issues that connect with workers.
And, he told a media roundtable hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, the Democrats are paying attention to unions and workers in drawing up their agendas.
“Candidates are actually listening,” he said.
Asked what the difference is between Clinton and the 2020 Democrats, Trumka said that the top candidates are focused on working families and a message of lifting them up.
“It’s the centerpiece of their campaign,” said Trumka. “That’s their priority. They are talking about changing the rules of the economy to make the country work for workers,” he added.
Of Clinton, he said, “Her primary thrust was, ‘I’m better than him,’” meaning Trump.
“The economic talks were secondary,” he said, adding, “now kitchen table economics are first and foremost, and workers are starting to listen.”
