A record number of labor union members were elected to public office across the US in Tuesday’s midterm elections as voters nationwide issued a furious rebuke to corporate interests that spent record sums trying to influence the vote.
The AFL-CIO, America’s largest labor federation, said Wednesday that 639 card-carrying union members were elected across the country—including Democrats Troy Jackson in Maine, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Gina Hinojosa and James Talarico in Texas, Bob Brooks in Pennsylvania, Brian Poindexter in Ohio, Randy Villegas in California, Donavan Mitchell in Illinois, and Sam Forstag in Montana, as well as hundreds of others who won state legislative and local offices.
Responding to attacks on organized labor by the Trump administration and a soaring cost of living amplified by President Donald Trump’s tariff regime and war with Iran, union households favored Democrats over Republicans by 21 percentage points nationwide on Tuesday, according to the AFL-CIO.
The results mark a significant improvement for the historic party of organized labor from two years prior, when Democrats outperformed the GOP among union households by just nine points.
Gearing up for an election in which fury at the billionaire class was a core theme, labor unions mounted historic efforts to bring disengaged union members to the polls. The AFL-CIO said it reached more than 16 million union voters.
Union members made up a record 15% of the electorate this year, according to the AFL-CIO, compared with 11% in 2024.
“This blue wave was union-made. The billionaires had the money in this election, but working people had the power,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “The people who make this country run issued a clear mandate… Speaking with a unified voice, workers demanded that their elected leaders fight to raise their wages and lower costs, expand access to healthcare and unions, hold billionaire CEOs accountable, and check the Trump administration’s attacks on their freedoms.”
While labor leaders celebrated the large Democratic majorities elected to the US House and Senate on Tuesday, they made it clear that their support cannot be taken for granted.
April Verrett, the leader of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), said Democrats must now deliver on their promises to the millions of workers who voted for them.
“Working people voted for change they can feel in their lives,” Verrett said. “That hope cannot be answered with politics as usual—a system where billionaires and giant corporations call the shots while the people who keep this country running struggle to get by.”
“To the leaders we elected: We are proud of what we accomplished together. We lifted you up. Now it’s time for you to deliver for us. To lower costs, make care affordable, protect immigrant families, and make it easier for every worker to join a union,” she said. “SEIU members will bring our energy, our organizing power, and our determination to these fights. And we will hold you accountable for delivering.”
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