The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which is a part of the labor federation the AFL-CIO, has kicked off a nationwide bus tour — that’s meant to continue all the way until Election Day coming up in November — in support of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
“From now until November, the #AFTvotes bus will be rolling in across the country in support of candidates who offer an inspiring vision for our nation’s future, one grounded in economic opportunity, freedom and the promise of America for all,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. And for the teachers’ union, that includes Harris. Weingarten appeared at a campaign event with Harris in Detroit, Michigan, on Monday, which was Labor Day.
The union intends for their bus tour to “continue for 63 days, hitting at least 20 states and 30 cities and towns through Election Day, Nov. 5,” they said. That even includes some areas generally considered to lean Republican, like Montana — where a closely watched Senate election is on the ballot this year as Democratic incumbent Jon Tester seeks another term.
After Detroit, the AFT tour was heading first to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and then Las Vegas, Nevada — both hotspots of organized labor. In Nevada, the Culinary Union already endorsed Harris and expressed its own intentions of helping electorally deliver the state in November’s face-off.
Meanwhile, a schedule for Republican nominee Donald Trump available on Tuesday appeared to indicate that he wouldn’t return to the actual campaign trail until Saturday, though the election is close. Consistently, he’s been leaving the task of actually showing up before potential voters largely — though not entirely — to supporters and allies of his like Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), his running mate. Vance tried recently to give a speech at a gathering of the union the International Association of Fire Fighters… and he was booed repeatedly.
