Two of the most powerful figures in organized labor have dramatically cut ties with the Democratic National Committee – a stunning rebuke to new DNC Chair Ken Martin as internal tensions roil the party.
Randi Weingarten, longtime head of the 1.8-million-member American Federation of Teachers, and Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME, which represents 1.4 million public service workers, have both declined reappointments to the national party under Martin’s leadership.
“While I am proud to be a Democrat, I appear to be out of step with the leadership you are forging,” Weingarten wrote in a June 5 resignation letter obtained Sunday by the NY Times. “I do not want to be the one who keeps questioning why we are not enlarging our tent and actively trying to engage more and more of our communities.”
Weingarten, who has served on the DNC since 2002 and on its powerful Rules and Bylaws Committee since 2009, was removed from that committee by Martin after he won the chairmanship in a hotly contested race earlier this year. She had supported his rival, Wisconsin Democratic Chair Ben Wikler.
Saunders, who also backed Wikler, declined his reappointment to the DNC on May 27. “The decision to decline the nomination to the Democratic National Committee was not made lightly,” he said in a statement. “It comes after deep reflection and deliberate conversation about the path forward for our union and the working people we represent.”
“These are new times,” Saunders added. “They demand new strategies, new thinking and a renewed way of fighting for the values we hold dear. We must evolve to meet the urgency of this moment. This is not a time to close ranks or turn inward.”
The coordinated departures of two major union leaders mark a serious erosion of trust in the party’s direction, as Democrats remain locked out of power and search for a compelling message to counter President Trump.
Martin has faced mounting scrutiny from within the party’s ranks. David Hogg, a DNC vice chair who openly endorsed primary challenges against incumbent Democrats, announced he would step down after the party voted to redo the vice chair election due to a technicality.
Notably, Weingarten publicly supported Hogg’s controversial move to challenge the party establishment, saying it was necessary to “ruffle some feathers.”
Even some of Martin’s allies are expressing discomfort with the escalating infighting. “I certainly wished we wouldn’t have dirty laundry in public, but you know the personalities, things happen,” said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who endorsed both Martin and Hogg. “I don’t think Ken’s focus has shifted one bit on this of expanding the party.”
Martin has not responded to requests for comment. A DNC spokeswoman also declined to weigh in.
The dramatic exits from two union giants — longtime pillars of Democratic fundraising and organizing muscle — leave the DNC facing deeper questions about its leadership, its vision, and who, exactly, it’s leaving behind.
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