Story by McKenna Schonbrun​

 

TRT: 1:43

 

Lower Thirds:

0:03 – McKenna Schonbrun, reporter

0:05 – Jeff Beaulac, IBEW Local 89 member 

0:26 – Shawn Fain, President of the United Auto Workers

0:34 – Ada Briceño, President of UNITE Here Local 11

1:13 – James Hallamek, Texas Teachers’ association member 

 

Captioning: 

VO: Labor union members here at the Democratic National Convention agree on one thing: 

 

SOT: What the convention has done is shown that Democrats are the real political party that is willing to go out and support labor, support workers.  

 

VO: A labor council meeting during the Democratic National Convention offers a space for union members to come together in solidarity, as Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers Union, put it. 

 

SOT: That’s what union is, and that our path to victory is that [if] we stand together, we will not lose. 

 

VO: Democrats say unions are crucial to support the working class. 

 

SOT: Having a voice on the job is sort of the equivalent of having a vote in this country. 

 

VO: But not everyone agrees with the benefits of unions.  According to the Pew Research Center, 75% of Democrats view unions favorably, while only 35% of Republicans share that view. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s comments regarding unions are devastating, as one labor committee member said. 

 

SOT: Very difficult to hear him be a scab and want to hurt the American labor movement and working families. 

 

This is the only party that’s going to look out for working families and that’s clear.

 

VO: Democratic union members also say unions are misunderstood by the Republican party. 

 

SOT: They think unions are communist, they think they’re super lefty liberals, but they’re just working class Americans who just want to put in their time and get paid for their labor, and they want from their administration they just need support. 

 

VO: Democrats gave union leaders prominent speaking roles this week during the convention, and now that party hopes union members will play an equally prominent role in helping to elect Kamala Harris in November. 

 

Nat sound pop 

 

In Chicago, I’m McKenna Schonbrun