A major labor union is telling Sen. Chuck Schumer it’s time to go.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers sent the New York lawmaker a letter Monday urging him “not to seek another term” as Senate Democratic leader — making the 600,000-member union the latest voice to join the push for a leadership shakeup after last week’s elections.
“After thoughtful discussions with our IAM Union Executive Council, we believe this is the right moment for a new generation to lead Senate Democrats,” the letter reads.
“This week’s elections sent a clear message: working people are demanding change,” IAM International President Brian Bryant wrote in the letter, which was copied to the full Senate Democratic Caucus and obtained by POLITICO.
The letter adds that the moment “will require fresh ideas, new energy and a new generation of leadership.”
In a statement to POLITICO, Bryant was even more blunt: “The IAM Union is through with any member of leadership, in any political party, who stops one iota short of being a ferocious, unyielding and unbending champion of working people.”
Schumer’s office declined to comment. A Senate Democratic aide, granted anonymity to speak candidly, called the letter “a counterproductive move against … a longtime IAM ally and a steadfast champion of labor.”
In his letter, Bryant thanked Schumer for a decade atop the Senate Democratic Caucus and called him “a trusted friend of organized labor.” But he also urged returning and newly elected Democratic senators to pick a “consensus leader” through “a fair and open process,” and laid out a to-do list for whoever gets the job.
That list includes passing a rail safety bill and the PRO Act, which would make it easier for workers to unionize, as well as restoring bargaining rights for federal workers and reviving enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies Republicans allowed to expire. The Senate Democratic aide noted it the machinists’ opposition to Schumer for leader was “particularly puzzling given his longstanding commitment to passing the PRO Act.”
The letter lands on the eve of the first full Senate Democratic Caucus meeting since the midterms. That meeting will be where Democrats begin to chart the course for electing their next majority leader, with some now saying it might be time to write a new chapter for party leadership — especially looking ahead to 2028.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)said Monday night that he still considering a challenge to Schumer, while Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) reiterated she wants to hear Schumer’s vision for how he’d lead the party over the next two years before she pledges him her support.
