When Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker threw his hat in the 2016 presidential ring in July, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued a curt six-word statement on it: “Scott Walker is a national disgrace.”
Of course, Trumka’s animosity toward Walker stems from the fact that challenging Big Labor has defined his tenure in the The Badger State, where he defeated the labor unions three times at the ballot box. And in March, Walker signed into law legislation that imposed new restrictions on labor organizing, which made Wisconsin the 25th “right-to-work” state in the nation. But with the White House in mind, Walker had planned to take his Big Labor reforms national, announcing a plan just last week that would’ve abolished the NLRB and public sector unions altogether.
Thus, Walker’s exit from the presidential race was welcome news to Big Labor, which responded with an equally terse statement.
“Scott Walker is still a disgrace, just no longer national,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said after Walker announced he was ending his 2016 campaign.
Walker still has more than three years left in his second term, so Big Labor can’t say an official goodbye just yet.