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Newsweek
2 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Democrats, Stop Talking at Workers. Start Listening to Them
In the 2024 election a clear message was sent to the Democratic Party and elected officials writ large: connect with the working class or fail. Now, with a Trump budget that slashes assistance to millions of working families who aren't paid enough to afford basics like food, health care, and rent—all to fund trillions in tax breaks to the wealthiest, most comfortable individuals and corporations in our nation—the need to hear from working people and build an agenda that responds to their needs is more urgent than ever before. While the Bernie-AOC "Fighting Oligarchy" tour, the New Economic Patriots caucus, Sherrod Brown's Dignity of Work Institute, and Mitch Landreiu's Working Class Project are all evidence of a desire to focus on working people, there remains a glaring need for elected officials to engage in an ongoing and personal conversation with workers—and to simply listen. The U.S. flag waves in front of the White House. The U.S. flag waves in front of the White House. Marina, a young woman from Sacramento, Calif. who works at Chipotle while pursuing her nursing degree, put it: "They don't seem to be asking questions they should be asking [like] what's going on in your workplace? What could be changed? Questions can be asked [about] any job. I would like to see them showing more interest in our day-to-day life." That's why our organizations and many allies are launching #Listen2Workers, a campaign designed to connect workers in California and across the nation with people in power, jumpstart these conversations, and make working people's needs and desires crystal clear. We will have politicians interviewing workers—beginning with California State Senators María Elena Durazo and Monique Limón, and Assemblymembers Matt Haney and Buffy Wicks—share videos and writings from union and non-union workers alike, organize town hall-like forums to further this critical dialogue, and make sure the public and workers see who is listening, who is fighting for them, and who isn't. Only through consistent, personal engagement will legislators regain trust at a moment when trust in government is steadily declining, and less than half of working class people still believe in the American Dream. That makes participating in this campaign both the right thing to do and a political opportunity as well. To learn what keeps workers up at night all one must do is ask them. Service workers, care workers, farmworkers, gig workers, and other blue-collar workers are worried about wages that don't keep pace with the cost of living, their benefits, and opportunities for advancement. Many fear retaliation when they speak up about workplace conditions. They want their children to go to college but tuition is out of control. Too many now must worry that they will be separated from their children. They see their families' dreams remaining forever out of reach no matter how hard they work as they watch the chasm between the haves and have nots grow deeper. "I hope my children can live in peace, move out on their own, and live their own dreams," said Curtis, a hospital security guard outside of Sacramento. "Right now, I'm afraid they can't. They can't afford it." There is nothing revolutionary about listening. Worker organizers are constantly doing it in order to assess and respond to rank-and-file needs. A decade-long organizing effort by fast food workers recently culminated in California with a raised wage, new worker protections, and a seat at the bargaining table for the first time. Similarly, a recent contract for child care providers included a first-of-its-kind retirement fund for family child care providers and historic rate reform. All of these campaigns began with listening and understanding workers' needs. Democrats have never had a problem with getting good crowds or talking about policy ideas. But they do have a problem with showing up regularly for working class people and listening—making it routine—and developing proposals based on the real stories we are hearing on the ground. And for all our talk of inclusivity, too often we speak in a language that people don't connect with—as if we are drafting a post for our LinkedIn followers, or speaking with nonprofit and philanthropic elites; too many buzz words and talking points, too much jargon and consultant-driven language. Instead, by maintaining an ongoing conversation with working class people, elected representatives can break out of inside baseball bubbles, regain trust, and build grassroots power. Just #Listen2Workers. Tia Orr is the executive director of SEIU California. Devon Gray is the president of End Poverty in California. The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
Politico
28-03-2025
- Business
- Politico
Dems walk fine line on auto tariffs
Donald Trump's tariffs are jamming Democrats. Desperate to win back working-class voters, Democrats in the Rust Belt and beyond on Thursday were walking a fine line following the president's announcement that he will impose an additional 25 percent tariff on imported cars and auto parts . Many are loath to criticize Trump's protectionist policies and risk the ire of their blue-collar base, even if they cast his deployment of tariffs as haphazard and warned they could spike prices. Tariffs are 'a tool, just like fire,' said Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, adding that she is reserving judgement on topic. 'You can barbecue with it, or you can burn your house down, depending on how you use it.' For Democrats, that's the problem. While they are unified against much of Trump's agenda, his use of tariffs has fractured the left. 'The real-world impact is that some of our everyday goods like groceries will see a rise in cost because of these tariffs,' said Michigan state Sen. Darrin Camilleri, who represents manufacturing-rich Downriver, a region of metropolitan Detroit. 'Those costs will go up because of tariffs.' But, he added, 'it is strategically important that we're fighting back against these big corporations that have been shipping our jobs to other places.' The fault line in the party runs all the way through its possible 2028 presidential primary contenders. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has warned they are not a 'one size fits all' solution, and should not 'punish our closest trading partners.' Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has called them a 'tax.' And Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has said that a trade war could raise 'prices at the grocery store, gas pump and more.' But some so-called ' New Economic Patriots ' in the party, like Rep. Ro Khanna of California, support targeted tariffs as a way to bring manufacturing jobs back to America. 'While I oppose Trump's blanket and capricious tariffs on allies, I support his targeted tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos and his initiative to renegotiate NAFTA and the USMCA,' Khanna told POLITICO. 'But targeted tariffs must be combined with government procurement policies and government financing for new factories and workforce development. We also must support collective bargaining, higher worker pay and workers getting some stock ownership in a modern age.' Khanna's position is not broadly shared by his colleagues. But even Hill Democrats who are largely opposed to Trump's moves insist they aren't categorically opposed to tariffs. 'I would like to see a more comprehensive, thoughtful tariff policy that's strategic, rather than playing whac-a-mole and seeing you know who he can threaten one day to the next,' Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio). 'Because what is happening now is not helping the American public and is making costs go up.' Said Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.): 'Blanketed tariffs are a bad thing. If they're strategic, then we have to be able to utilize them.' On Thursday, some on the left pushed out new Democratic polling in an effort to paint Trump's move as unpopular. A Navigator poll of 1,000 registered voters showed 53 percent had a negative view of tariffs, with 30 percent in favor and 17 percent undecided. The poll, which was conducted from March 13-17 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent, took place before Trump announced the auto tariffs. That polling is not out of line with public surveys. A number of polls from March showed that the public is generally skeptical of tariffs. In a CNN poll from earlier this month , 61 percent of voters did not approve of Trump's tariffs. As they absorbed the fallout from Trump's announcement, which will likely drive up domestic car prices, some Democrats on Thursday hammered on the expected costs. 'I don't think we're seeing any of the tariffs that Trump has proposed to be good for our economy, for everyday working people, I think it's going to come back and bite us in our ass, and we're seeing that when you look at the economy, when you look at the stock market,' said Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio. 'We know that the tariffs are not good for hard working American people.' Across the border from Ohio, in Michigan, Sarah Anthony, a Democratic state senator who is mulling a run for higher office, piled on, suggesting tariffs would hurt not just Michigan's auto industry, but also ripple through other parts of the economy. 'Supply chains are going to be impacted,' she said. 'I feel as though the Trump administration never thinks about the short- and long-term impacts. They just think about the next press hit, the next thing that makes them look like a renegade.' But Democrats have reason to be cautious, especially after Trump made inroads with blue-collar workers in battleground states in the upper Midwest. Shawn Fain, the United Auto Workers president who called Trump a 'scab' during last year's presidential campaign, came out in support of the tariffs, praising Trump for ' stepping up to end the free trade disaster that has devastated working class communities for decades .' It's clearly something that Democrats are tracking. On Thursday, Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), whose district includes Rochester, criticized the administration's deployment of tariffs, saying, 'There's no theory, there's no plan, there's no strategy.' But he didn't discount the idea of tariffs entirely. He said, 'I think sometimes tariffs are appropriate, but it's on a case by case basis, and it certainly I would do typically as a last resort.' Or as Sykes put it, 'We have to make sure that auto production is not disrupted and American workers aren't disrupted. So what I'm asking from the tariffs and the executive and his plan is to make sure that it's strategic and that we continue to focus on domestic manufacturing and do everything we can to lower costs.' Andrew Howard contributed to this report.
