Unionized workers propel Newsom in final days of recall campaign

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By Dan Merica and Kyung Lah, CNN

It was approaching the sweltering 100 degrees when Governor of California Gavin Newsom jumped in the back of a flatbed truck to thank dozens of workers for their work to keep it going.

“I know what you are thinking,” Newsom said in shirt sleeves and tie. “Better be small, it’s 100 degrees in here.”

Work has been at the heart of Newsom’s efforts to keep his job, and whether he is able to avoid Republican support recall effort on September 14, he could be thanked by the dozens of unions that support him. Unionized workers in California not only became Newsom’s backbone because of their ties to the world of work, but because Newsom also enjoys deep support among voters of color – many of whom were the audience for the speech. governor Sunday.

“Your family is here in the federation,” Ron Herrera, head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, told Newsom as union workers across the county chose the barbecue provided by Sheet Metal Local 105.

In Los Angeles County, where Newsom rallied on Sunday, the entire union affiliation through the AFL-CIO spent at least $ 2 million to protect Newsom, according to the spokesperson for the organization, Christian Castro. They coordinated over 1,100 volunteer teams, made over 550,000 phone calls and knocked on over 60,000 doors, with the goal of reaching a total of 100,000 doors by election day.

It’s an effort Newsom was clearly aware of as he stood sweaty on the Chevrolet grid.

“I just want, from the bottom of my heart, to say thank you to all the workers here, to all of these essential workers here in the state of California,” Newsom said, praising the workers for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic. “One thing I am determined to do is remember… You were supportive of us, and I want you to know that I will support you.”

Newsom told CNN after the event that the reason work is so critical to him is simply because “no one knows how to organize better than work.”

“It’s about boots on the ground, knocking on the door. It’s about text messaging, ”said Newsom, whose campaign is primarily aimed at getting Democrats to the polls, not supporting this recall. “This is not a persuasion campaign. I mean, you’ll always find people who can be on the fence, but it’s really about participation. Work knows how to get by.

In addition to the workforce, unions have helped propel the anti-recall effort. Newsom’s campaign told CNN on Sunday that locals of the Service Employees International Union, California Teachers Association, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, State Building & Construction Trades Council, Laborers The International Union of North America, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and The United Association have contributed $ 14 million to fight the recall and protect Newsom.

Newsom’s main opponent, Republican Larry Elder, has sought to turn union support for Newsom – especially unions representing teachers – into a powerful attack on him.

Elder argued that the teachers’ union is the biggest obstacle to its plans to introduce more school choices to improve the education of California children. He sharply criticized the way Newsom closed schools in California during the pandemic, arguing that it had a disproportionately negative effect on black and brown students, and criticized Newsom’s close relationship with the teachers’ union – calling it governor “beholden to the unions” – as one reason he accepted these plans.

“The number one barrier to school choice is the teachers’ union,” Elder said at an event in Ontario, Calif. On Saturday. “Who is my opponent’s main funder? Union of teachers!

And in an interview with CNN last week, Elder criticized the money Newsom raised from the unions: “My opponent can raise an unlimited amount of money – he has already raised around $ 50 million from the suspects. usual: teachers’ union, public sector unions. “

But as the recall enters its home stretch, Newsom has no fear of its connection to work at all, knowing that powerful organizations – which enjoy a particularly high 65% approval rating, according to Gallup – will be critical for its biggest problem: participation.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 2-to-1 in a state President Joe Biden won by almost 30 points. But polls throughout the summer showed Republican voters were much more excited than Democratic voters to vote on the recall. Yet to overcome their math problem in the Golden State, Republicans would have to post massive turnout while Democratic turnout remained relatively low. Early ballots suggest Newsom has made strides in convincing Democrats that there is a real risk to their program if they do not participate.

For unionized workers who spent Sunday afternoons munching on tacos, dancing to Selena, and listening to Newsom, the recall effort wasn’t just an affront to the work they did to elect Newsom there. is barely a few years old, but an effort that is inextricably linked to race and immigration.

“Organized work has been essential in ensuring that this becomes a deep blue state,” said Hugo Soto-Martinez, a 38-year-old hotel employee who is represented by Unite Here Local 11. “The values of the ‘State reflect the union. values and these are workers, these are immigrants, these are people who work for wages in this country.

Workers like Soto-Martinez have spent a lot of time keeping Newsom in power, either knocking on doors or working on the phone to connect with people about the impending recall.

Shavon Moore-Cage, a worker represented by AFSCME District Council 36, told CNN she calls voters at least three evenings a week after cooking dinner. The reason: Her union is diverse and she wants to make sure that diversity is celebrated in California, not attacked.

“The unions here in California, we are like a melting pot of people. We represent every culture, we represent every race, we represent all ethnic groups, ”said Moore-Cage. When asked about Elder, the answer was straightforward: “He does not represent all colors and all nationalities. He can say he is doing it, but his action speaks louder than words.

The Elder campaign did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

In addition to the work, Newsom also relied on national Democratic figures to stimulate interest from the party’s base – rallying with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren on Saturday in Los Angeles, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar on Sunday in the Orange County and is expected to rally with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday in Northern California.

The rush of flooded Main Democrats in California gave the recall effort a national tone, with Newsom stoking that sentiment as an effort to make the recall more of a referendum on national Republicans – and the legacy of former President Donald Trump – and less on his leadership in California.

But for union leaders with whom Newsom rallied on Sunday, the recall concerns Newsom as much as their union rights.

“This is not just an attack on the governor,” said Gloria Alvarado, executive director of the Orange County Federation of Labor, during her speech at an event with Newsom and Klobuchar in the Orange County Sunday. “It’s an attack on the house of work.”

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