By Olivia Grady

On Labor Day 2016, top union bosses spent the day campaigning for Democrat Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Virginia, New Hampshire and Illinois.

Some of the unions represented included the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), United Steelworkers (USW), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

As Cathleen Decker of the Los Angeles Times explained:

The intent was to marshal volunteers to knock on doors and reach out electronically on behalf of Clinton, who from the start has predicated her campaign on a strategy of grinding out the vote.

At a Labor Day festival in Cleveland, Ohio, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, AFSCME President Lee Saunders, and AFT President Randi Weingarten joined Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine on the campaign trail. At the festival, Trumka explained why he was voting for Clinton:

Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine are ready to rewrite the economic rules. They oppose the [Trans-Pacific Partnership] and support a new direction on trade. They will make the largest investment in infrastructure, public education, workforce development and manufacturing since World War II—to the tune of 10 million new jobs.

While earlier in Pittsburgh, at the annual Labor Day parade sponsored by labor unions, Sen. Kaine spoke about how important organized labor is:

Let’s have a big round of applause for labor. We have to make sure labor is right there with us. We’re going to involve labor in everything we do. … And nobody understands team work like organized labor.

He was joined by USW President Leo Gerard, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry and AFT President Randi Weingarten.

At the Philadelphia Labor Day parade, AFL-CIO Officer Tefere Gebre said:

This election is about who we are as a people... I risked my life as a teenager to come to a United States that stood as a beacon of hope and freedom for all people regardless of race ethnicity or religion.  We need to work together to be sure this election confirms that we won't turn our backs on what makes this country great.

Bernie Sanders also spent Labor Day campaigning for Clinton at New Hampshire’s AFL-CIO breakfast and rally along with AFL-CIO leaders. AFL-CIO Officer Liz Shuler was critical of Donald Trump:

Trump is not just unfit to be president—his polices would be a disaster for working people. He loves "right to work." He has repeatedly mistreated employees at his own company. And he says wages are too high. Let me repeat that. He says our wages are too high.

And New Hampshire AFL-CIO President Glenn Brackett at the breakfast voiced support for Clinton, "we have the single-most-scrutinized presidential candidate in the history of politics."

After Ohio, Clinton spoke in the Quad Cities community of Hampton, Illinois at the Salute to Labor Picnic, where Communications Workers of America union members, like Petty Metcalf, attended. "We're here to support so that we have help for the unions so we have backing to be able to do some programs to help people who need it," Metcalf said.

The event also included National Education Association (NEA) President Lily Eskelsen Garcia, United Automobile Workers (UAW) President Dennis Williams, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) President Lonnie Stephenson.

Before speaking at the annual AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic in Cincinnati, former President Bill Clinton walked in a Labor Day parade in Detroit with thousands of union members.

Ron Maracle, a Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters Local 687 union member who was walking with his union, said: "I believe in the good fight. Figured our country was at its best with Clinton in charge, so let's get it back to that way." 

After the parade, the former president spoke at a United Auto Workers picnic, criticizing Trump’s economic plan.

In Boston, at the annual Labor Day Breakfast sponsored this year by the Greater Boston Labor Council, US Senator Elizabeth Warren urged union leaders and activists to support Hillary Clinton.

Todd Wallack of The Boston Globe recognized the event was political:

At times, the event felt like it was as much like a campaign event for the Democratic Party as it was a rally to celebrate labor organizations. US Senator Edward J. Markey credited union leaders for the Democratic Party’s string of victories in federal elections in Massachusetts. All of the state’s US Senators and Congressman have been Democrats since Warren defeated US Senator Scott Brown four years ago.

In Massachusetts, union leaders believe 1,000 members will campaign for Clinton in neighboring New Hampshire this election.

With Donald Trump making a special pitch to union members, Labor Day was viewed by the Clinton campaign as a way to target a traditional Democrat base.

AFL-CIO plans to have 100,000 staff and volunteers on Election Day across the United States.