President Joe Biden to make re-election pitch to unions in Pennsylvania

President Joe Biden will address union members in Philadelphia on June 17 in his first political rally since announcing his re-election campaign, aiming to shore up a key part of his political coalition and bolster support among white working-class voters.

President Joe Biden will address union members in Philadelphia on June 17 in his first political rally since announcing his re-election campaign, aiming to shore up a key part of his political coalition and bolster support among white working-class voters.

The AFL-CIO, which includes 60 unions representing more than 12.5 million workers, endorsed Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on June 16, the earliest it has ever endorsed in a presidential election, and is hosting June 17 event.

Mr. Biden's frequent appearances at union events, including at a labor conference in Washington right after announcing his re-election campaign, shows how important he thinks the labor movement is to a second term.

Hailed as the most pro-union president in history by labor leaders, he has supported collective bargaining at companies, reversed Trump-era rules that weakened worker protections, pushed to reverse a decades-long decline in union membership, and made it easier for union labor to build bridges and ports around the country.

White working-class union voters were divided on Biden in 2020, but some union leaders say he now has their support.

Some building trades unions, whose members traditionally vote Republican, did not endorse any candidate in 2020 after local leaders couldn't agree over backing Biden or Donald Trump.

Ryan Boyer, head of the influential Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents 50 unions including boilermakers and steelworkers, said Biden's track record as president has erased any doubt among his members about who to support in 2024.