He was associate director for Citizen Action and worked at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
While at the AFL, Podhorzer helped establish Working America, the community partner of the AFL–CIO which has grown to 3 million members nationwide.
As political director, Podhorzer leads the AFL–CIO's strategy of counteracting the influx of spending by Republican-allied super PACs by stepping up its ground game for the 2012 elections,[7] as well as helping lead the Federation's voter protection efforts and mobilization strategy.
And on Election Day, the Federation will deploy 5,000 to 6,000 poll monitors to watch voting booths.
[11][12] A February 4, 2021 article by Molly Ball in TIME credited Podhorzer as "the architect" of a "shadow campaign that saved the 2020 Election," consisting of “a well-funded cabal of powerful people, ranging across industries and ideologies, working together behind the scenes to influence perceptions, change rules and laws, steer media coverage, and control the flow of information.”[5] Podhorzer was married to Carol Browner, a board member of the League of Conservation Voters and former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.