Massachusetts AFL-CIO leader criticizes both Democrats and Republicans for not helping working class

CBS News

2 days ago

The 2024 presidential election showed neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are "really working for the working class in a way [they] should be," said Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Chrissy Lynch.
"I think a lot of union members saw, and a lot of working class people in general saw, one party defending a status quo that hasn't been working for them and one party wanted to blow up the status quo, and it's not a good place for, I think, our democracy to be in," Lynch said in an interview on the Sunday edition of "Keller At Large on WBZ-TV.
"I still think that our endorsement of Kamala Harris was the right one…Look, the platform of what Kamala Harris stood for versus what Donald Trump and Project 2025 stood for is a very stark difference," she said.
Lynch accused the Trump administration of "chipping away at worker's rights," and "taking a sledgehammer to all of the things that are bedrock to our country."
But she also offered qualified praise for the president's reshaping of U.S. trade policy.
"I think he tapped into something, which is people want stuff made and bought in America. I think the free trade policies of the 90s, which both parties supported without labor standards, are feeding into what we have now, which is people want stuff made in America. I think his sledgehammer approach to tariffs is misguided, but I do think we should be figuring out how to make more things in America."
Lynch defended the proliferation of strikes in the Greater Boston area over the past year, including actions by sanitation workers, food service workers at Fenway Park, and several illegal teacher strikes.
"Working people across the board are feeling fed up with an economy that doesn't work for them," she said. "I really applaud that they are not afraid to stand up to these corporate giants and fight for what is right."
Lynch also discussed the impact AI and automation are having on labor and expressed support for a potential statewide ballot question to legalize teacher strikes being considered by the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
You can watch the entire interview in the video above. Keller at Large airs every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on WBZ.