Randi Weingarten: For unions, this is a ‘which side are you on’ moment - a podcast by POLITICO

The president of the American Federation of Teachers says that union
members haven’t just cooled on Trump—they’ve turned on him. Union
leaders and members now “know who the bad guys are,” says Weingarten,
the longtime head of the American Federation of Teachers—President
Donald Trump and the five justices who signed on to the court’s Janus
decision in June. Early on, Trump’s support among organized labor was at
astronomical levels for a modern-day Republican, with November 2016 exit
polls showing him with the support of more than 40 percent of union
households. A March 2017 Reuters-Ipsos poll gave him a 62 percent
approval rating among union members, but by spring 2018, it had dropped
to 47 percent. The union members who ruled out voting for Hillary
Clinton don’t appear to be sticking around as the president actually
moves forward on his trade war and economic agenda.  Weingarten says the
combination of an antagonistic administration and hostile high court has
driven union members to the barricades. And though she acknowledges that
the AFT and its allies may now be in a fight for their existence, at
least they’re in the fight.

POLITICO’s "Off Message" podcast is hosted by Isaac Dovere and is a
proud member of the Panoply network. Produced by Zack Stanton. Special
thanks to Dave Shaw. Intro and outro music by Podington Bear.

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