{"id":1051572,"date":"2025-02-19T13:22:05","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T18:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1051572"},"modified":"2025-02-19T13:22:06","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T18:22:06","slug":"icymi-dnc-chair-ken-martin-outlines-democrats-pro-worker-pro-union-vision-in-new-memo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/icymi-dnc-chair-ken-martin-outlines-democrats-pro-worker-pro-union-vision-in-new-memo\/","title":{"rendered":"ICYMI: DNC Chair Ken Martin Outlines Democrats\u2019 Pro-Worker, Pro-Union Vision in New Memo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yesterday, DNC Chair Ken Martin underlined Democrats\u2019 commitment to working Americans in a new memo<\/a> ahead of his first trip as Chair of the Democratic National Committee, which included a roundtable in Pittsburgh with United Steelworkers. In the memo, Chair Martin warns of the Trump administration\u2019s attacks on workers\u2019 rights and its effects on hardworking Americans and their families \u2014 all so that Trump and his billionaire backers can enrich themselves. Trump\u2019s Project 2025 agenda is making it harder<\/a> for workers to unionize, further tearing away<\/a> the power of the NLRB and rolling back<\/a> bedrock worker protections that have been in place for 60 years<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In sharp contrast, Chair Martin emphasized that Democrats must be the party of working people and unite behind the kitchen table issues that connect us all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at some of the coverage below: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guardian<\/strong><\/a>: DNC chair outlines pro-worker, union focus in first memo in fight against Trump<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Michael Sainato, 2\/18\/25]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe newly elected chair of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, has warned his party that the Republicans are now seen as the party of the working class and vowed to win back the trust of American workers as the Democrats seek to rebuild after their losses in the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn his first memo in the role, seen by the Guardian, Martin said, after the election, \u2018for the first time in modern history, Americans now see the Republicans as the party of the working class and Democrats as the party of the elites.\u2019 \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring his first presidential term, Martin noted Trump created offshoring incentives for corporations, stacked federal courts with appointees who attacked collective bargaining rights and attacked union workers on several occasions, claiming striking workers should be fired and calling firefighter union leaders \u2018dues-sucking people.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Trump\u2019s administration includes more billionaires than any other in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American history, with a combined net worth that exceeds the GDP of 172<\/p>\n\n\n\n

different countries. These appointees bring damning anti-union, anti-worker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

records that mirror Trump\u2019s own,\u2019 Martin added. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe memo cited several Trump appointees with records of opposing workers\u2019 rights, including Trump\u2019s interior secretary, Doug Burgum, who opposed the Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips Act over labor protections included in the bill; billionaire Howard Lutnick, Trump\u2019s pick for commerce secretary, whose real estate firm has promoted offshoring jobs to Mexico to corporations; and education secretary and billionaire Linda McMahon, who supports defunding public education, where 70% of teachers are unionized compared with 11% at private charter schools, and dismantling the US Department of Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe memo also discusses Elon Musk\u2019s long record of attacking workers at his own businesses, including at Tesla, SpaceX and X when he bought Twitter, and emphasizes the destructive policies outlined in Project 2025, the rightwing blueprint drawn up ahead of Trump\u2019s re-election. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Unions protect workers regardless of identity, offer a pathway to the middle class, and raise standards for union and non-union members alike. Trump\u2019s continued Project 2025 threats to unions are a direct attack on the wellbeing of working families everywhere,\u2019 Martin concluded. \u2018As I take over as chair of the DNC, union workers and labor leaders will be core to my decision-making. As Trump wages his war on working families, Democrats will fiercely answer the call to my favorite old union song, Which Side Are You On? I\u2019ll tell you what: Democrats are on the side of the worker. We will show Americans every day that workers in fact do have more power than any billionaire.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hill<\/strong><\/a>: New DNC chair: Union workers, labor leaders will be \u2018core to my decision-making\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Tara Suter, 2\/18\/25] <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNew Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin said Tuesday that union workers and labor leaders will be \u2018core to my decision-making.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018As Trump wages his war on working families, Democrats will fiercely answer the call to my favorite old union song, \u2018Which Side Are You On?\u2019 I\u2019ll tell you what: Democrats are on the side of the worker,\u2019 he said. \u2018We will show Americans every day that workers in fact do have more power than any billionaire.\u2019 \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018I fundamentally believe that our party is grounded in the values, principles, and aspirations of the working class,\u2019 Martin said in his Tuesday memo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018As Chair of the DNC, that belief will guide my decisions and approach in the years ahead. In contrast, in only his first month in office, it\u2019s become abundantly clear Donald Trump doesn\u2019t give a damn about the kitchen-table issues that matter to most Americans,\u2019 he added.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/strong><\/a>: Martin heads to Pennsylvania to win back workers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Patrick Svitek, Meryl Kornfield and Jacob Bogage, 2\/18\/25]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKen Martin is making his first major trip today as the new chair of the Democratic National Committee \u2014 and the symbolism couldn\u2019t be clearer. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018As the Trump agenda fails our nation\u2019s working communities, we have to take seriously the job of repairing and restoring the perceptions of our party and our brand,\u2019 Martin said in a long memo ahead of his trip that was obtained by The Early Brief. \u2018It\u2019s time to remind working Americans \u2014 and also show them every day \u2014 that the Democratic Party always has been and always will be the party of the worker.\u2019 \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the memo, Martin promised that \u2018union workers and labor leaders will be core to my decision-making\u2019 as DNC chair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Examiner<\/strong><\/a>: Ken Martin targets labor in first trip as DNC chairman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Jack Birle, 2\/18\/25]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018So, as the Trump agenda fails our nation\u2019s working communities, we have to take seriously the job of repairing and restoring the perceptions of our party and our brand. It\u2019s time to remind working Americans \u2014 and also show them every day \u2014 that the Democratic Party always has been and always will be the party of the worker,\u2019 Martin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe used the memo to rail against Trump\u2019s policies, outlining how he believes they are harmful to unions and take sides with billionaires, rather than the working class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018As Democrats, it is our responsibility to stand up for working people and unite behind the kitchen table issues that connect us all. As I take over as Chair of the DNC, union workers and labor leaders will be core to my decision-making,\u2019 Martin said in the memo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018As Trump wages his war on working families, Democrats will fiercely answer the call to my favorite old union song, \u201cWhich Side Are You On?\u201d I\u2019ll tell you what: Democrats are on the side of the worker. We will show Americans every day that workers in fact do have more power than any billionaire,\u2019 he added.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, DNC Chair Ken Martin underlined Democrats\u2019 commitment to working Americans in a new memo ahead of his first trip as Chair of the Democratic National Committee, which included a roundtable in Pittsburgh with United Steelworkers. In the memo, Chair Martin warns of the Trump administration\u2019s attacks on workers\u2019 rights and its effects on hardworking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1051572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nICYMI: DNC Chair Ken Martin Outlines Democrats\u2019 Pro-Worker, Pro-Union Vision in New Memo - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/icymi-dnc-chair-ken-martin-outlines-democrats-pro-worker-pro-union-vision-in-new-memo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-19T18:22:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-19T18:22:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/icymi-dnc-chair-ken-martin-outlines-democrats-pro-worker-pro-union-vision-in-new-memo\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/icymi-dnc-chair-ken-martin-outlines-democrats-pro-worker-pro-union-vision-in-new-memo\/\",\"name\":\"ICYMI: DNC Chair Ken Martin Outlines Democrats\u2019 Pro-Worker, Pro-Union Vision in New Memo - 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