First lady Jill Biden speaks at Federation of Labor event at McCormick Place
CHICAGO (CBS) – First Lady Jill Biden delivered a talk on Wednesday at the McCormick Place to the Chicago Federation of Labor at its annual Labor Day reception.
CBS 2's Chris Tye had the story on how organized labor is driving new deals and exposing divides from the auto industry to Hollywood to Chicago ahead of next year's Democratic National Convention at the United Center.
Biden holds a doctorate in education, is the first lady, and is a card-carrying union member with the National Education Association.
She was in Chicago speaking to organized labor, a once rock-solid wing of the Democratic party that has seen a larger share of its members endorse former President Donald Trump in recent years.
Her talk came as the country awaits word on a possible massive strike by United Auto Workers against the big three automakers, as well as talk of Starbucks unionization, deals recently struck by UPS, and ongoing strikes by Hollywood writers and actors.
"I know it isn't easy, but you do this because of who you are," Biden told the attendees. "You're advocates. You're organizers. You're union members. You stand together and fight for the communities you care about and you never give up."
CBS 2 spoke earlier on Wednesday with the president of the Chicago Federation of Labor about the deals struck with all key unions that will play roles in next year's Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He said the Democratic party wanted to make sure there was labor peace and no friction for the events which beings one year from last week.
"We spent time working with the DNC to craft a labor peace agreement for all the people that will be involved with the production of the convention to make sure that we have labor peace," said Bob Reiter. Along with the national labor movements, Reiter added "we have stuff happening on the ground in Chicago everyday."
Biden said she and President Joe Biden "understand the middle class, because we are from the middle class."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson were also at Biden's talk Wednesday, signaling the power held by the Chicago Federation of Labor, which represents 300 unions and half a million people in Chicago and Cook County.
The first lady is scheduled to head to Wisconsin on Thursday. The White House did not share whether she is spending the night in Chicago.