Donald Trump, Populism, and Organized Labor

• In Event: Assessing the Presidency of Donald Trump

Abstract

As he campaigned for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump embraced the populist idea of an innate conflict between the virtuous masses and a corrupt and even treasonous elite. As part of this narrative, he chose to cast himself as a defender of the “forgotten” working man, and even said he wanted to turn the Republican Party into a “worker’s party.” He envisioned “a party of people that haven’t had a real wage increase in 18 years, that are angry. . ." Once installed in the White House, among the first people that Trump met with were a surprising group: the leaders of several of the largest labor unions in the United States. Their presence was novel in that the Republican party in recent decades had largely eschewed union support, with George W. Bush virtually shunning labor leaders while president. President Trump, in contrast, appeared to return to an earlier mode of Republican outreach, more like that of Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower, in which union leader support was cultivated as part of an effort to divide the Democratic coalition.

This paper analyzes this effort by Trump, one that is similar to that pursued by both right and left-leaning populists in other advanced industrial countries. Utilizing personal interviews with union leaders and a rich documentary record in the periodical press and government press releases, the paper will address the following questions: Was the Trump initiative toward labor substantive, or largely symbolic? In what policy areas, from labor law to foreign trade, were union preferences implemented? And what has been the effect, if any, on the political allegiances of union leaders and the rank-and-file? Has Trump had any success in detaching unionized workers, especially white union workers, from the Democratic party? And is all this activity best thought of as an example of a new kind of populism, or just as a kind of throwback to earlier forms of partisan activity (as seen, for example, in mid-20th century political alignments)? From a theoretical perspective, Trump’s efforts can be understood by using at least three academic literatures: studies of populism; studies of interest groups and party alignments; and studies of party position change over time. As appropriate, these larger literatures will be employed to gain greater analytical leverage over the evolving Trump-labor relationship.

Author

• Taylor Evans Dark, Cal State Univ Los Angeles