Zoom has been Joe Biden’s teleconference lifeline during the coronavirus lockdown. It has helped him push for relevance as states are shut down, in-person political campaigning is suspended, and President Trump commands the stage during daily multi-hour press briefings.
Biden has hosted a handful of virtual town hall meetings and the campaign has upped its game since the first disastrous event, now including questioners from around the country.
But a theme is shining through: Biden seems only to speak to union members, and of those only from labor organizations that have endorsed his candidacy.
In a town hall with “front line workers” on Wednesday, Biden talked to three individuals, all from battleground states.
Safaa Elzakzoky, a meat processing worker from Hatfield, Pennsylvania, said she has been a steward for almost six years with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union.
She asked Biden about workplace standards, and Biden went on at length about OSHA, frequently looking above the camera as if he was following notes.
At one point, and seemed to be reading a script, as he said “quote,” and a statement.
The next questioner was Jerry Brown, a paratransit driver from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was introduced as chief shop steward of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 836.
Brown asked about the lack of protective gear for drivers, a Biden lamented the death of a bus driver from Detroit, and blamed his death on Trump, saying the driver “never should have been left to fend for himself and his own— to sacrifice his life for his job. It’s a failure of leadership from the president.”
The final worker was also from Michigan. Kris Holtham, a grocery clerk from Lansing, was also identified with the UFCW Local 876.
“Stay home, stay safe — but you can go to the grocery store,” she said sarcastically.
“It’s an open invitation to the grocery store.”
She asked what restrictions Biden would impose to “keep us all safe,” and wondered if he would support “extra compensation for what I would consider today as front line workers, such as hazard pay.”
He said he did.
On April 8th, Biden help a virtual town hall on “Unemployment and Issues Facing Working Families.”
The first guest was Lavette Jacobs of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103 in Boston.
She asked about “what the federal government should be doing for union workers like myself to get relief as quickly as possible when it comes to the unemployment process.”
Biden responded by calling the woman “kiddo,” and blamed Trump for not doing enough.
The next worker was Judy Gile, who said she is employed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and said her work “involves making sure that both workers and employers have a fair shot at the unemployment system through a timely hearing.”
The final guest of the town hall was Leah Dudley, “a dedicated shop steward and a member of UNITE HERE, Local 24 in Detroit.”
On March 27th, Biden hosted a “Frontlines Round Table.”
The first question came from Dennis Lawson, a battalion chief who represents the bargaining unit for Central Pierce Flight and Rescue and president of Washington State Council of Fire Fighters.
The next was Michelle Thoman, who represents 1,700 nurses as president of the local Registered Nurses Association. The banner identified her as the president of AFT Local 5903.
Another question at the town hall came from Tony White, a Washington, DC, EMT, who was associated with the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 36.
The final question was offered by Trung Le, a registered nurse and member of AFT Local 3837 in Connecticut.
In 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unionization rate for private sector workers was 6.2 percent. It was 33.6 percent for public sector employees.
All of the unions represented in the town halls have endorsed Biden and so they, in turn, are receiving an audience with the candidate in what appear to be scripted, tightly controlled events.
More free-wheeling town halls have produced situations where agitated or hostile attendees question Biden, causing the candidate to lash out, as he did in Iowa.
In December, Biden called a voter a “damn liar,” and ordered him to “get your facts straight, Jack” after the man asked the candidate about Hunter Biden’s connections to Burisma.
One union Biden has excluded to date: the National Border Patrol Council, which endorsed Trump in 2016.
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter and like him on Facebook.
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