PHILADELPHIA – Despite decades of declining union membership, it’s not hard to see why Democrats hold labor close come election time, especially during the get-out-the-vote period in battleground states.

In a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood, rows of modest one-story homes with short lawns are home to union members, from city employees to firefighters and construction workers.

A wiry man in blue jeans and a Phillies shirt opened up his front door to greet the canvassers he’d spotted outside, by the minivan wrapped in the logo of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT).

He recognized the lead canvasser, Jimmy Williams. It turned out the two had actually come up through the local trade apprenticeship together decades back. They embraced and reminisced about the old days and how much of a hard-ass their instructors had been, especially one in particular whom the two referred to exclusively as “Fat Tony.”

“I wasn’t sure I’d make it through those five years. Remember our other instructor who served in the military and acted like he was preparing us for combat in Vietnam,” the man at the door said.

“Some days it was like we had to remind him we were supposed to be learning trade skills, not pass a physical for the Marines,” Williams said in between drags of a cigarette. He goes through about a pack of American Spirits a day.

“Man, you should probably be [union] president by now with how involved you were and your dad and all.”

Williams laughed. “Well, guess what I actually am. That’s why I’m here.”

Jimmy Williams Jr., the international president of IUPAT since 2021, is a fourth-generation union member and the son of former president James Williams, who retired in 2013. After ascending through the ranks from the shop floor, the younger Williams has built a reputation as one of the more progressive union leaders, especially within the building trades, which traditionally have leaned more conservative.

For the past six weeks, Williams and the Painters have been hitting the road on a campaign bus tour through the Rust Belt, to rally members and union households alike for the Harris-Walz ticket. Northeast Philly was his last stop. He grew up just a few miles away and has deep roots in the area. Along with the national ticket, Williams was jointly canvassing that day for Jimmy Dillon, a union-endorsed candidate for state legislature.