Two union leaders have ignited a fresh union exit crisis within the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, and Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), rejected offers to remain as at‑large members—a sign of growing dissent in party ranks.
Weingarten made her stance clear in a letter to DNC Chair Ken Martin: “I appear to be out of step with the leadership you are forging, and I do not want to be the one who keeps questioning why we are not enlarging our tent and actively trying to engage more and more of our communities.”
Their departure compounds last week’s fallout over former vice chair David Hogg’s decision not to seek reelection following his controversial plan—including a $20 million PAC—to primary veteran Democrats he labeled “asleep at the wheel.” The move had already threatened to split the party’s progressive wing.
A former DNC official told Fox News Digital, “There is a huge vacuum of leadership in the Democratic Party and Ken is proving to be a weak, ineffective leader who isn’t ready for any of this.” Another committee member added that the split was predictable, saying the union chiefs had backed alternate leadership—former candidate Ben Wikler—and had stood against Martin’s agenda since that race.
Despite this divide, one DNC source remained optimistic: “I have no doubt both of them, and the labor unions, will move forward and work together with the Chairman… focused on beating Donald Trump and the existential threat that he and Republicans pose.”
However, the union exit now looms as a symbol of deeper ideological battles within an already struggling party.
