Biden rallies in Philly on Labor Day, ripping ‘the last guy’ and touting ‘Bidenomics’

Philadelphia’s annual Labor Day rally and parade added some firepower this year, as President Joe Biden dropped by to tout his economic program and rip “the last guy” to hold the office, Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

“When the last guy was here he looked at America from Park Avenue,” Biden told the early-morning crowd of union members, other workers, and their families filling the parking lot of the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 19 in Pennsport. “I look at it from Scranton, Pennsylvania. I look at it from Claymont, Delaware.”

After a few shout-outs to local labor leaders and elected officials, Biden promoted his administration’s pro-worker and pro-union actions, including a rule change, proposed last week, that would increase the number of workers eligible for overtime pay by raising the minimum annual threshold from $35,500 to $53,000 a year. (According to the rule proposal, it’s actually just over $55,000.)

“We’ve got a whole lot of people working as executive assistants working a hell of a lot more than 40 hours and not getting paid overtime,” Biden said. “Now you’re going to get paid overtime.”

He also praised the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, noting that it commits $10 billion to Pennsylvania and $78 million to Philadelphia, and plans to transition to electric vehicles throughout the United States.

“And guess who’s going to build these projects?” Biden told the crowd. “You are.”

In addition to using union labor for these projects, Biden said he’s insisting on using American workers and American products, and said he is “determined to bring the supply chains home” to create more middle-class jobs.

Amid all these policies, he said, the budget deficit has shrunk by $1.7 trillion during his first two years in office. Biden credited this to the implementation of a 15% minimum corporate tax, which was part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. (As CNN reported earlier this year, that tax didn’t take effect until 2023, and wouldn’t have affected the deficit during his first two years.)

Throughout his speech, the president drew comparisons to Trump — referring to him as “the guy who held this job before me.” He said his predecessor was one of just two presidents in American history to oversee net job losses during their time in office. The other was Herbert Hoover, whom Biden was happy to mention.

Ahead of Biden’s remarks, AFL-CIO Philadelphia Council President Danny Bauder spoke to a cheering crowd, calling out several local unions that made headlines this year. He recognized how University of Pennsylvania medical residents, who voted to form a union in May, became the biggest new union in Philadelphia in 50 years. And he gave a shout-out to Teamsters at the Liberty Coca-Cola distribution center, who went on strike in May before winning a new contract.

“So many workers are standing up to the bosses, saying, ‘Enough is enough,’” Bauder said.

Bauder also looked ahead to the “unions getting ready for some big fights,” mentioning Transport Workers Union Local 234 — the largest union of SEPTA workers — and the Philadelphia Orchestra musicians.

Ellen Trainer, president of Philadelphia Musicians’ Union Local 77, said this Labor Day “has extra meaning for us” as the union prepares for its contract to expire in less than a week.

Brian Pollitt, president of TWU Local 234, said “any contract negotiation is a tough fight.” Pollitt has been involved in the union’s contract negotiations for over two decades.

“We are not new to the table; … we’re not rookies,” Pollitt said.

Hillary Linardopoulos, of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said her union is preparing not only for contract negotiations next year, but for organizing around the presidential election.

“We know that what happens in any individual classroom is closely connected to the political landscape,” Linardopoulos said. With regard to Biden’s visit, she said, “It is great that he’s here so that our members see firsthand that he respects them and respects the work that they do every day.”

Standing in the crowd were local members of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Both have been on strike for months after failing to reach a contract with the major film and television companies that employ them.

Nicole Izanec, president of SAG-AFTRA’s Philadelphia local, said this Labor Day “has a different sentiment to it.”

“We’re definitely in need of much more solidarity this year as we’ve been 50-plus days on strike,” Izanec said. “So having the president here and having such union solidarity [at] our annual Labor Day parade, it sort of hits home differently.”

Local WGA members, on strike since May, have been rallying alongside SAG-AFTRA. The Philadelphia WGA group is small, with between 20 and 25 members, said local strike captain Shuo Zhang, “but we’re standing strong and we show up to everything.”

“The solidarity has been incredible,” Zhang said. “We’re in the middle of a movement where laborers are finally standing up to demand what they’re worth.”

Organized workers at the rally included nannies, housecleaners, and caretakers who are not unionized but have been working to get more domestic worker laws in place.

Many of the worker protections celebrated on Labor Day do not include domestic workers — a fact that Bauder noted in his remarks, telling them, “this is your day, too.”

Maria del Carmen Díaz, a Philadelphia house cleaner and caretaker with the National Domestic Workers Alliance, said the opportunity for NDWA members to sit on stage with the president Monday shows that domestic workers are coming out of the shadows.

Annie Johnson, a longtime nanny in the Philadelphia region and NDWA member, said she wants to see a federal law similar to the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights passed in Philadelphia three years ago.

“This is our opportunity to not just put a toe in but a foot in and eventually our whole self will be here,” Johnson said.