Hospitality Workers’ Union Endorses Harris

The hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, a rejoinder to Republican Donald Trump’s effort to woo restaurant and hotel workers by promising to make their tips tax-free, Josh Boak reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The endorsement includes a commitment by the union to have its members knock on more than 3.3 million doors for Harris in swing states that include Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, and North Carolina. I Photo: WNY Area Labor Federation,AFL-CIO Facebook

Union President Gwen Mills said Trump was merely “making a play” for votes while Harris has credibility from having supported unions. She discussed the move with the AP before the union’s announcement of an endorsement.

The endorsement includes a commitment by the union to have its members knock on more than 3.3 million doors for Harris in swing states that include Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, and North Carolina.

Trump, the former president, proposed excluding tips from federal income taxes during a June 9 rally in Nevada.

Both of Nevada’s Democratic senators, Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, have supported Trump’s idea, a sign of its potential popularity. The Biden administration has countered that tipped workers would be better off with a higher minimum wage.

President Joe Biden stepped down from the ballot roughly two weeks ago, and Harris, whose portfolio as vice president includes organized labor, has embraced many of his existing economic proposals. In speeches, she has also pushed for rules to make it easier for workers to unionize.