Unions contributed heavily ending Republican control of both houses of Congress Tuesday by building a movement that reflected the kind of unity needed to end MAGA’s grip on the country. The results were a landslide of wins for unions and the issues important to their members.
“This blue wave is union-made,” Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, declared. “Working people voted in massive numbers to take our power back from the Trump administration and its billionaire allies, hold wealthy elites accountable, and build the economy we deserve.
“Across the country, working people organized and turned out to elect candidates who will put us first by fighting alongside us to lower costs, raise wages, create an economy that actually works for working people, and put a check on the administration’s attacks on our freedoms.”
Voters elected a record number of union members whose lives reflect the experiences of workers to Congress and state legislatures. “We are thrilled to celebrate their wins and welcome the power of union solidarity to Congress,” Shuler said.
Exit polls show union households voted 21 percentage points more for Democrats than Republicans nationwide, driving victories decisive for control of Congress. Union voters made up a historic high of 15% of the overall electorate, and even higher in key battleground states—a direct result, the AFL-CIO said in a statement, of an effort by unions to turn out millions more union members than in 2026.
Shuler said: “The Trump administration did everything it could to control the results of this election. Change the ID laws. Purge the voting lists. Mess with mail-in ballots. Harass and intimidate voters—especially immigrants and people of color—to scare people away from the polls. And they redrew maps. It did not work.”
American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley, whose union suffered the brunt of the Trump regime’s vicious assault on federal workers and their union contracts, was overjoyed and demanded the next Congress repeal those moves.
Voters “sent a crystal-clear message in this election they want major change in Washington,” said Kelley. “They are tired of this administration’s corruption, abuse of power, and systematic assault on our shared government that began with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency and continues to this day.”
AFGE “looks forward to the 120th Congress passing legislation to correct the injustices of the past few years and pulling up DOGE corruption by its roots” and “overturning President Trump’s orders that illegally eliminated collective bargaining rights for more than a million federal employees.”
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten was overjoyed that voters rejected Trump’s dictatorial mandates—and its anti-public school bias. And the numbers were so large, she said, that the election “was too big to rig.”
“The American people unequivocally rejected the corruption, cruelty, chaos, and cost-of-living crisis of the Trump era. They said no to the hate, derogation, and rot to which we have descended, and yes to candidates who care about others, who want to create dignity and opportunity, and who champion public education, healthcare, and a pathway to the American Dream.
“In race after race,” Weingerten added, “those who supported public schools and rejected private school vouchers triumphed—statewide in Texas, Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio, and in countless congressional districts and school board races.”
Weingarten warned that the battle for justice does not end with Tuesday’s election, though.
“While we may have turned the page on a dark chapter of our national story, the future remains unwritten. The next Congress must act not only to fix the damage Trump and his cronies have wrought, but to build a better life for everyday Americans.
“That means strengthening public education and higher education,” she said, and “increasing wages, making healthcare affordable and accessible, and rebuilding our democracy.
“We will act on these priorities starting tomorrow. And tonight, we will celebrate and reflect on our journey as a nation, how we rejected hate and authoritarianism, and how we can reclaim our freedoms for good.”
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