Walz Kicks Off 5-State Campaign Tour in Union Convention Speech

The Minnesota governor leaned on his years paying union dues as a school teacher and criticized the former president for supporting ‘right to work’ laws.

Attendees hold signs as Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks at the 46th International Convention of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on Aug. 13, 2024. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz hit the stage at a labor union convention in southern California on Aug. 13, touting his teaching background and pro-worker message in his first solo appearance since joining the Democratic Party ticket last week.

“The vice president and I, we know exactly who built this country. It was nurses, it was teachers, and it was state and local government employees that built this nation,” Walz said in a Los Angeles ballroom filled with thousands of members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union.