According to the AFL-CIO, about 20 percent of the delegates at the Democratic National Convention were union members. We talked to four from Duluth about their experiences. In addition, Corey Cusick, AFL-CIO Community Services Director and member of AFSCME Local 3558, was in Los Angeles for AFSCME’s international convention. Gov. Tim Walz made his first solo appearance as VP candidate. Here's what they all had to say.

Lee Cutler
Political coordinator, NEALC
The feeling of excitement is palpable. You could taste it in the air. I am exhausted and invigorated.
Being a Minnesota delegate was so much fun because we were THE state people paid attention to — folks know Kamala, they know she’s from California, but everyone wanted to talk to us about Walz and the DFL trifecta.
On Thursday, the day after Walz gave his speech, he came to the Minnesota delegation breakfast and spoke with us, and even though he’s now a vice presidential candidate, it was like, there he is, there’s our buddy.
Our delegation spent a lot of time with the delegations from the Dakotas, Nebraska,

 Iowa and Wisconsin, just hanging out, and we all became good buddies, and also learned a lot from each other about organizing. And we talked about how that trifecta we got, a lot of it was because of Labor’s hard work in getting Grant Hauschild elected — without him, we wouldn’t have had a trifecta, which is what put Walz on the map.
Going to the Labor caucuses was also incredible, I got to hear (Secretary of Labor) Julie Su speak and (Sen.) Bernie Sanders…(DFL Chair) Ken Martin spoke and tied together Labor and the DFL and their work in Minnesota.
I think I’ve had maybe five hours of sleep over the past four days. And Gus (Walz)? Gus was the superstar of the whole thing.

Bernie Burnham
President, Minnesota AFL-CIO
I don’t know what to compare it to — you can think of a few great times in life, getting married, having children, graduations — but the joy and excitement…it’s up there in the top 10 things in my life.
I’m proud of Minnesota and proud of our governor, and that energy is just so strong. I’ve got friends who haven’t really done much politically in the past, and they’re reaching out now, saying, “What can we do?” They’re feeling hope and want to be a part of it.
It’s being a part of herstory, as they say, and history too, with Kamala Harris, one of our first women of color as a candidate — that’s me. That’s the kids I used to teach. It’s Labor as a whole, and represents some of the changes we’re trying to bring. There’s a huge presence of Labor here — 20 percent of the delegates are in a union, and all the union speakers the other night, led by Liz Schuler.
Labor is going to continue to be in a good spot. These are folks who have worked with us in the past, and we have great ties to the governor, and that’s going to continue. The Biden administration was phenomenal in working with Labor, and both Walz and Harris have walked picket lines. It’ll mean more good things for the country — we’ll keep things moving forward and keep investing in policies and infrastructure and children and people of color. We’re feeling a real sense of possibility.
I got a call from the DFL, asking if I wanted to be a Biden delegate, and I said yes — it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. And some of us were talking the other night with another delegate, who had been to several conventions, and would have been happy to let other go first if they had wanted, but nobody stepped up. And we were wondering — would more people have done so if they had known that this would be the ticket?
It comes back to what does it mean to be in a union — what’s the bottom line? Do you believe in our country and the democratic process? Are you in it just when it’s winners? You can’t pick and choose.

Katie Humphrey
Political organizer, Education Minnesota

Even though it’s over, I have this feeling of total awe. It was so surreal, knowing that the VP nominee is someone I’ve worked relatively closely with over the last six years, sat across from at multiple union meetings and DFL events.
A lot of people had to google Walz when the announcement came, but after he spoke, it was evident that he’s the right choice. He’s going to fire people up and he’s so relatable on so many levels.
It was a historic event to witness in person, nominating Kamala Harris as our official candidate. It was really emotional and inspiring, and the reception overall has been sheer positivity and optimism and enthusiasm.
And obviously I’m beyond elated that we’re going to be sending a union member and educator to the White House! I’m so excited about sending someone who’s so in touch with working people and the issues that affect them. We see it too as, anecdotally, it’s always hard to mobilize campaign volunteers during the summer, but since the announcement, we’ve had so many people calling the office asking how they can help and volunteer.

Janet Nelson
AFSCME Retirees
Janet Nelson attended as a volunteer.
Everybody is excited about Gov. Walz. When we meet people and they hear we’re from Minnesota, they are so excited to talk about him. They say they love him and want to know more.
Just being here with people has been a lot of fun. A lot of the people I was sitting with didn’t understand why California and Minnesota passed their turns [during the roll call vote], and I explained it was a tradition to let the home states get close and then put the presidential candidate over the top. And then they explained to me who some of the rappers and celebrities were.
Everybody’s excited. It’s amazing to see the commitment as people are out until 4:30 in the morning, and then come back a couple hours later to get credentialed. It’s just electric.

It was very surreal. Going into the pick, I didn’t give myself permission to be hopeful about Walz’s chances — conventional wisdom says you need someone from swing states to help you win, but sure enough, it was him. It’s been surreal since then; it took several days to sink in.
At the International convention, there had been rumors that Kamala or Tim would come down; for her, she’s from California, and for Tim, he was making his big introduction to the national audience.
The Minnesota delegation got a group photo with him, all of us in our Minnesota AFSCME shirts and Tim up front — but we had to stand in line for two and a half