When Vice President Kamala Harris announced Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) as her running mate, I was ecstatic because, through his life story and public service record, I saw an opportunity for the Democratic Party to redeem itself as a political home for the working class. Walz embodies middle-class values and concerns, shaped by his experiences as a high school teacher, coach and Army National Guard veteran. Harris’ selection of Walz felt like a genuine step toward recrafting the Democratic Party as a political ally for the working class, rooted in its values and priorities, such as economic security, healthcare access and strong public education. While President Joe Biden and Harris push policies aimed at reviving traditional union jobs in manufacturing and industrial sectors, their approach often overlooks today’s service-oriented, gig-based workforce. And following former President Donald Trump’s projected victory on Election Day, Democrats must win back this part of their base.
For context, in the ’30s, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” pulled the United States out of the Great Depression and created a coalition of blue-collar workers who identified with Roosevelt’s strong labor protections, new social programs and goals to raise wages. Today, the bond between the Democratic Party and workers is fraying, as workers grow alienated by a party that has turned a blind eye to the actual needs of American workers — job security, lower inflation, affordable healthcare and education. The Democratic Party has an opportunity to reclaim the trust of workers by confronting this new disconnect and recalibrating its platform — or else, it risks losing the working class for good to right-wing populists. The American working class is a different demographic today than it was during the Great Depression: Now, along with traditional union jobs, the modern working class consists of waiters, baristas, Uber drivers and teachers, whose economic needs are not the same.
The 2016 election season marked a pivotal point in middle-class political disillusionment — it was the first time that data showed the wealthiest 5% of white Americans voting for Democratic candidates at a higher rate than those in the bottom two-thirds of the income distribution. Over the last half-century, unionization has halved, decreasing from 20.1% in 1983 to 10.0% in 2023, and the workforce has become increasingly dominated by low-paying gig jobs with poor benefits and little to no labor protections. As key fixtures such as union halls vanished from working-class lives, Democrats failed to adapt to worker needs. Furthermore, as Democratic Party leadership ushered in neoliberal policies, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, policymakers dismantled the economic structures that sustained working-class communities in the Rust Belt and South. For example, factory closures caused reliable jobs to disappear, and entire towns were thrust into economic dilapidation. Many American workers feel that the Democratic Party has sold them out, prioritizing Wall Street and doing little to prevent corporate deregulation.
Trump’s economic populism and “America First” rhetoric is a timely reprieve for voters tired of being ignored by the political establishment. Trump’s messaging effectively captures the emotions of workers who see their jobs moving overseas and their benefits disappearing. His economic platform relies on marketing policies that give workers the illusion of empowerment: Clever slogans like “Right To Work,” laws that ban having union membership as a condition of employment and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a 2017 Trump bill that gave enormous tax relief to large corporations, manufacture consent for policies that erode the middle class.
However, Republican talking points are not simply duping working-class Americans. This is a condescending assumption that Democratic elites have long held and is part of the very problem with the Democratic Party’s new policy priorities. The Democratic establishment has drastically underestimated how well Trump’s pro-America message resonates with voters. This miscalculation is rooted in a foundational misunderstanding: Democrats do not understand modern American workers and what they prioritize. While Biden may walk the picket line and invoke the legacy of Roosevelt, his administration’s policies fail to address the reality of the modern economy. During his administration, Americans faced extreme inflation, rising housing costs and did not see the strong economic data the White House touted reflected in their daily lives. Democrats are marketing to a workforce that no longer exists, focusing on policies designed for traditional union jobs. For example, the Biden-Harris administration failed to provide ambitious solutions to low healthcare access and high education costs despite 63% of middle-class voters supporting single-payer healthcare and 59% of voters without a college degree supporting free college education. Thus, Democrats are neglecting the challenges of gig work, automation and rising income inequality.
Opportunities still abound for Democrats to implement pro-worker policies and control the narrative on labor. Republicans frame their policies as middle-class wins, hoping workers will not notice the governmental yoke restricting access to unionization, dampening labor standards and imposing higher costs on goods for consumers. As the 2024 presidential election comes to a close, Democrats have a chance to reinvent themselves — they can either continue losing workers’ votes to Republicans, or they can reinvest in an authentic vision for American labor — one that carves out a path for real economic equality.
This new labor movement starts with the workers themselves. I hope that new leaders with personal blue-collar work experiences, such as Walz, will offer American workers a platform to create policies that truly address their needs. While Harris and Trump tout their work experience at McDonald's during their campaigns, real McDonald's workers are likely laughing at their TVs, knowing that neither politician has plans to truly alleviate their hardships.
I could be proud of a Democratic Party that does not try to win working-class votes through cheap rhetoric and empty economic promises. Instead, it should prioritize a bold, progressive vision for American workers, championing the healthcare, job development and labor standards policies that meet both traditional blue-collar needs as well as those of these new workers. Only then can Democrats rebuild a party worthy of the working class — and only then can they win voters back.
Contact Ethan Jacobs at ethan.jacobs@emory.edu.
