Biden's union support appears strained amid queries regarding his candidacy

President Joe Biden's allies in organized labor have stood by him over the past two weeks. But for some, that support is starting to waver — both behind closed doors and in public.

State and local leaders at the National Education Association — the largest labor union in the U.S. — have started publicly voicing misgivings about its endorsement of Biden, concerns initially driven by the president's stance on the war in Gaza that have been aggravated by his poor debate performance.

At a closed-door meeting between AFL-CIO leaders and campaign officials this week, union chiefs, including United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and the Association of Flight Attendants’ Sara Nelson, aired concerns over the president’s path to a second term, said three people with knowledge of the meeting, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly about private discussions.

Nelson said Friday that her remarks were “distorted” and that “President Biden and Vice President Harris have my full support,” but she acknowledged expressing concerns. Fain, meanwhile, appeared to go further.

"In this election, we can't put our heads in the sand and hide from reality,” Fain said at a labor activist conference in Baltimore on Friday. “We tried that in 2016 and it didn't work. Real democracy and real leadership is about not being afraid of the truth — even the hard truths.”

The vast majority of union leaders appear nowhere near abandoning their championship of Biden, who has delivered on many of their top priorities. Yet, the rumblings indicate Biden may not be able to count on across-the-board support from a foundational constituency that will be crucial in must-win states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

“Everyone’s a little nervous,” one former union president who is still plugged into the movement told POLITICO on Friday, adding some are “extremely nervous.”

Steadfast union support is critical for Biden at a time when his campaign has tried, to mixed results, to stem the flow of calls from congressional Democrats and other backers to step aside.

AFL-CIO’s top brass has ridden hard for the president. On Friday, the union federation’s president, Liz Shuler, appeared with Biden at a campaign event in Detroit and sent a letter to congressional Democrats, obtained by POLITICO, urging them to “stand with us as we stand with President Biden and Vice President Harris.”

Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement, “President Biden has labor’s back, and he’s proud labor has his.”

But when members of AFL-CIO’s executive council met with Biden’s campaign staff earlier this week following an appearance by Biden himself, the tone was different, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting.

“I don’t know if the right word is ‘contentious,’ but there were people who spoke who were not happy with the campaign,” including Fain and Nelson, said one of the people.

Biden’s debate performance seems to have rattled union leaders as much as other Democratic-aligned groups.

Just days after the debate, AFL-CIO officials scheduled a “special call” with local union leaders across the U.S. who belong to umbrella groups called Central Labor Councils, during which Shuler reiterated its support for Biden, said one person with knowledge of the call.

“I'm sure people in the Biden campaign wanted to shore up people in the AFL-CIO nationally, and that's why that call happened,” said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly. “It’s July 3, and we’re having a call at three o’clock in the afternoon.”

AFL-CIO spokesperson Mia Jacobs disputed that characterization of the call, saying it was a routine engagement with local officials.

Biden has made it his mission to be the “most pro-union president in history,” and labor leaders widely credit him with delivering on those promises.

In return, they lined up behind the president’s reelection in record time with a few notable exceptions. Some have bristled at the misgivings now being expressed by some in their ranks.

The head of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers on Friday sent a letter to the White House strongly urging Biden to stay in the race.

“In the IAM, we value seniority,” Brian Bryant, the union’s international president, wrote. “We believe that the best indicator of what someone will do in the future is what they’ve done in the past. And that those who have proven they can do the job — and who have done it extraordinarily well — should continue to do so.”

Yet, as the Republican National Convention convenes next week, the lack of union solidarity will be on display, with Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien set to address the gathering on Monday.

Despite any misgivings they harbor about Biden, other union leaders are livid with O’Brien, who hasn’t been invited to the Democratic convention so far, despite his request.

“I pushed every button I know to make sure he wasn’t invited to the DNC,” said the former union president. “Nobody representing working class people should be anywhere near the Republican convention."

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