It has been a week and people on the left are still reeling from Donald Trump’s election victory. Unions, in particular, are still coming to grips with what to do next. Some have advised to do what they’ve always done: fight.
DC 37’s Executive Director Henry Garrido noted that this is the second time in 16 years the presidential candidate of their choice won the popular vote but lost the electoral college. Garrido noted that although this election showed exactly how divided the population is on culture, class and race, his union will continue to fight.
“Here in New York, DC37 members and activists stepped up and voted our values and aspirations,” stated Garrido. “As we come to terms with the reality of a Donald Trump presidency and a Congress dominated by the right-wing, it is more important than ever that we mobilize and organize. We need to build a movement of resistance to the new forces in Washington. And we need to ensure that our city and state elected officials provide the resources to effectively address the concerns of working families.”
Two other unions sent letters to their constituencies explaining what’s next during Trump’s transition to the White House.
Although the United Federation of Teachers didn’t have anything to say in the immediate aftermath of the presidential election, they did send the AmNews a letter from Michael Mulgrew, union president. According to the union, the letter was sent to approximately 3,000 delegates. Mulgrew reminded the delegates that they could provide a safe space for members to talk to each other and to keep emotions at bay when they answer students’ questions.
“At our Delegate Assembly on Wednesday, you shared powerful and heartbreaking stories about your first day back at school,” read Mulgrew’s letter. “A teacher at International HS at Union Square relayed that an 11th-grader confided to him that her dream of going to college died the day before and her parents had started talking about moving back to their home country. A Queens teacher had to calm the fears of one 3rd-grader that World War III was coming. A Bronx high school teacher shared how she changed the topic of the Socratic seminar she had planned from Shakespeare to the election.
“In times like these, we have to hold fast to our core beliefs: that public education is critical to the future of this country; that all communities inside our school communities deserve respect and dignity; and that workers have a right to unionize and be treated fairly,” Mulgrew continued.
One union that took a unique approach to Trump’s victory is the United Steelworkers. In an open letter from leadership it addressed how the union knew that there were Trump supporters in their ranks, but the union still endorsed Hillary Clinton.
“We fully recognize that the members of our union were divided this election season,” the letter read. “While our nation’s economy has begun to grow after the devastating economic collapse during the Bush years, it has failed to grow quickly enough. And, as the members of this union know better than anyone, the growth has failed to stimulate the manufacturing sector because of our nation’s failed trade policies which grows out of both our political parties. Donald Trump used our own words to speak to these problems, and to the real suffering, fears and anxieties that so many feel.”
Union leadership also vowed to work with Trump.
“Today I am sending a congratulatory letter to President-Elect Trump indicating that we will work with him to advance the interests of our nation and our members,” the letter read. “On trade law overhaul, infrastructure rebuilding and job creation we expect to work with his transition team and his administration to reclaim American jobs, revitalize manufacturing and rebuild our communities and nation.”
