Two Top Union Leaders Quit D.N.C. Posts in Dispute With Chairman

[SouthBayDem]

Source: New York Times (GIFT LINK)

The leaders of two of the nation’s largest and most influential labor unions have quit their posts in the Democratic National Committee in a major rebuke to party’s new chairman, Ken Martin.

Randi Weingarten, the longtime leader of the American Federation of Teachers and a major voice in Democratic politics, and Lee Saunders, the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, have told Mr. Martin they will decline offers to remain at-large members of the national party.

The departures of Ms. Weingarten and Mr. Saunders represent a significant erosion of trust in the D.N.C. — the official arm of the national party — during a moment in which Democrats are still locked out of power and grappling for a message and messenger to lead the opposition to President Trump. In their resignation messages, the two union chiefs suggested that under Mr. Martin’s leadership, the D.N.C. was failing to expand its coalition.

Both labor leaders had supported Mr. Martin’s rival in the chairmanship race, Ben Wikler, the chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Mr. Martin subsequently removed Ms. Weingarten from the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, a powerful body that sets the calendar and process for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating process.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/15/us/politics/randi-weingarten-dnc-ken-martin.html?unlocked_article_code=1.PU8.zw_l.5eUUP408MWE9

[msongs]

1. they didnt get their ways so now they're quitting. not unusual nt

[dflprincess]

2. Martin was a great fundraiser for the DFL

but he's a real "my way or the highway" kind of guy. I know a few people at the local party unit level that were pushed into resigning their volunteer positions because they had crossed him & he was threatening to shut their local units off from voter lists or other support from the state.

What he could get by with at a state level, may not work at the national.

[LT Barclay]

3. It appears that fundraising is no substitute for real leadership. I think the big money is actually a hinderance

because it is a focus on big donors not voters. I know the SCOTUS is trying to dance down this path, but right now dollars don't vote, people do. Small donors can win big races. Ask William Koch.

[Deminpenn]

7. Kind of the vibe I got off him when he was a guest on

The Weeknight on MSNBC. It seemed like the same, old, tired playbook.

[et tu]

9. yawn

oh, i'm to get excited about the old status quo? i've
been a long time dem, so how are we to sustain our numbers
and grow with antiquated thinking like this? rigid patriarchy [is
there any other kind?] will not win. and my lord, if we can't win
over fascism-then there is no hope
ty for your post-we must do much better

[quaint]

8. I have a lot of respect for both union leaders; I am ignorant of their previous "quits".

[Mawspam2]

4. Ben Wickler was the better choice.

Instead, you get the same-old, same-old with Ken Martin.

Same old messaging. Same old outreach only in election years. Same old highly paid consultants offering the same old talking points. Same old recycled candidates.

Can't blame them for leaving a sinking ship. Dems should be on fire, instead Dems are more hated than the Cheetos-faced wanker because we offer nothing new.

[slightlv]

6. And how trumpian that Martin kicked Randi off the committee

she was heading when they discovered she was for Wikler. I think a lot more people should walk out. Not only is the DNC showing it can break out of it's gerontology mode, but it seems to be adopting some of the trump and trump admin's worst practices. This really doesn't sit well... especially for those of us who are craving a DNC that's more dynamic and ready to take on all the open spaces trumpism has given them. Choose one and run with it. Hell, choose a thousand! They're all there and ready to be pushed. Of course, that IS a scary place to be -- protesting against trump.

[usonian]

5. Many organizations forget their charter and function only to "do as we always did"

My opinions on the DNC loser brigade are here and elsewhere.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20401158

Quite simply:


Winners are noted in the post linked above.

[Miguelito Loveless]

10. Yet another failure by the Dem leadership that

insists on pretending it is 30 years ago, and the tactics that worked then work now.

[Vinca]

11. It seems as if the root of the problem rests with Ken Martin. He's a change repellant.

[travelingthrulife]

12. This is so stupid to do this at this critical point in our democracy.

Fight fascists, not Democrats. WORK with other Democrats.