President Joe Biden on Wednesday notched the backing of another labor union, this time from North America’s Building Trades Unions, as he looks to shore up support from blue collar workers that could be critical in the so-called "blue wall" battleground states this November. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden on Wednesday notched the backing of another union, this time the North America’s Building Trades Unions
  • The labor group, which represents more than three million workers, officially endorsed the incumbent president during the final day of its 2024 legislative conference at a hotel in Washington on Wednesday 
  • The president used the event to deliver repeated criticisms – and some of his most pointed jabs – at his predecessor and likely 2024 Republican rival, former President Donald Trump  
  • Biden has sought to solidify the backing of organized labor – something that could be crucial to winning the blue-collar workers in swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin 

The labor group, which represents more than three million workers, officially endorsed the incumbent president during the final day of its 2024 legislative conference at a hotel in Washington on Wednesday. 

“It’s not a joke, it’s not a campaign line – the God’s truth is you’re the best workers in the world, that’s a fact,” Biden declared while delivering remarks to the cheering crowd of union members on Wednesday. 

The president used the event to deliver repeated criticisms – and some of his most pointed jabs – at his predecessor and likely 2024 Republican rival, former President Donald Trump. 

“Because of you, 2024 – we’re going to make Donald Trump a loser again,” Biden said. “Are you ready?” 

The president once again framed the election as being about the difference between Scranton vs. Mar-a-Lago – referencing his hometown in Pennsylvania as well as Trump’s Florida report – honing in on his pitch that Trump is out of touch with middle-class Americans that he launched during a campaign swing earlier this month. 

“Folks, we all know people like Trump look down on us,” Biden said Wednesday. 

“He looks down on us. I’m not joking. Think about it,” Biden said. “Think about the guys you grew up with that you’d like to get in the corner and just give him a straight left. I’m not suggesting you hit the president. But we all know those guys growing up.”

The organization’s president, Sean McGarvey, criticized Trump, both as a president and a businessman, while giving Biden a glowing endorsement. 

“Donald Trump is incapable of running anything,” said McGarvey. “God help us if he gets anywhere near the White House in the future.”

McGarvey promised “an unprecedented field program in key battleground states” to help defeat Trump this year.

Biden has sought to solidify the backing of organized labor – something that could be crucial to winning the blue-collar workers in swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin. Last week, he delivered remarks in front of unionized steelworkers in the other so-called blue wall battleground state of Pennsylvania before addressing the IBEW Construction and Maintenance conference in Washington to accept that union’s backing. 

Biden secured the endorsement of the United Auto Workers union in January, months after making history when he joined striking UAW members on the picket line in Michigan as they pursued better pay and benefits from the Big Three Detroit automakers.

Both Biden and Trump met in recent months with the Teamsters union leadership as both candidates court the backing of that union, which boasts 1.3 million members.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.