Issued July 15, 2024
WASHINGTON, DC – Service Employees International Union International President April Verrett issued the following statement in response to Donald Trump’s pick of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate:
“J.D. Vance may portray himself as a working class hero, but his record tells another story. The truth is that Senator Vance’s loyalties lie with the Wall Street bankers and Silicon Valley billionaires who have bankrolled his political career. Together, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance will seek to protect the wealthy and corporations while enacting their insidious Project 2025 agenda. There’s a stark contrast between Biden-Harris, who have backed workers and taken action to lower prices and raise wages, and Trump-Vance who side with price-gouging, union-busting corporations.
Vance has repeatedly voted against the needs of working families calling for a stronger voice on the job and in their communities. He opposed the PRO Act which would make it easier for workers to form unions. He has also opposed worker-backed nominees for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and National Labor Relations Board.
As a former venture capitalist, J.D. Vance has made clear his disdain for working people just trying to get by. He has called universal childcare “a massive subsidy” and said that universal day care constitutes “class war against normal people.”
While J.D. Vance claims to support workers, he seeks to divide us, and is a proud supporter of Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda. He has even called our nation’s epidemic of gun violence “a fake problem,” a statement that cannot stand after this weekend’s horrific assassination attempt, which has stained our nation.
J.D. Vance has made a political career out of playing both sides, but working people are not fooled. This November, working class voters of all races will be casting their votes for the ticket that has stood with us – not with CEOs and billionaires. SEIU members are committed to re-electing Biden-Harris, true working class champions who will help us finish what we started, and ensure every worker has a voice on the job and in our democracy.”