PHILADELPHIA – Joe Biden wrapped himself in the mantle of the most pro-union president in the history of the United States on Saturday, when he was received by the fervent applause of the unionists in the first great electoral act of the campaign for his re-election in the 2024 elections. In the political act he assured that his economic plan favors the workers.
He highlighted the climate, tax and health package approved last year, which has reduced the cost of medicines and insurance premiums, out-of-pocket issues that are part of his achievements in his first two years in government and a central argument in favor of his re-election.
“I can’t wait to launch myself into the campaign,” declared the Democratic president. “We have a track record to build on.”
The decision to run in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania — and before a welcoming union audience — reflects the crucial role they will play in his re-election.
The city was the site of his campaign headquarters in the 2020 election and the state was one of the few to have voted for Republican Donald Trump in 2016, but returned to the Democratic side in 2020.
So far, the main activity of the Biden campaign has been fundraising to try to raise an impressive amount before the end of the second quarter. On Friday, the president raised funds at a private residence in Greenwich, Connecticut, and in the coming days he will hold events in California, Maryland, Illinois and New York.
More than 1,000 union members wearing different colored T-shirts and the logos of their organizations chanted “Come on Joe!” and “We want Joe!” and blew whistles before they arrived.
The president paid tribute to commemorate one year of the massacre. That day a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers inside a fourth grade classroom.
Members of carpentry unions, airport workers, entertainers and heavy equipment operators praised Biden. Some spoke in Spanish through translators.
Organizers said the unions present represented 18 million workers.
They recalled that Biden started his campaign in 2020 at a union location in Pittsburgh and the president often says that none of his predecessors has been as pro-union as he was. He told reporters before leaving Washington that he met with business leaders on Friday and that business interests and unions are “starting to work together.”
“I’m excited about this, which is the start of something big,” Biden added. “And we will begin to change the economic balance.”
Several of the most powerful unions, including the AFL-CIO, the teachers’ federation and the federation of state and city employees, officially endorsed Biden on Friday. This joint endorsement of several unions and the presence of hundreds of workers are part of a carefully choreographed campaign to show support for what Biden himself calls the most pro-union president in history.
On Wednesday, Biden received endorsements from leading environmental groups. A campaign official said the string of endorsements was intended to show that attacking climate change through green jobs does not threaten workers’ rights.
The event in Philadelphia was accompanied by encouraging economic news for Biden, with inflation cooling last month, consumer prices slumping driven by gasoline prices, food prices rising less than in previous months and cheaper furniture, air fares and electrical appliances.
Before the union act, Biden flew over the collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia in a helicopter that has disrupted one of the busiest arteries in the country.
