Teamsters won’t support either candidate in the presidential race
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters declined to endorse its presidential candidates on Wednesday, even as both sides sought support from the nation’s largest union.
The group’s general executive committee voted Wednesday to abstain, citing disagreements among members and a lack of strong commitment on labor issues from major party candidates Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
The refusal to endorse could be seen as a loss for Harris, a Democrat. The union has supported Democrats in every presidential election since 2000, including Trump’s opponent Joe Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Each campaign has sought the support of the 1.3 million-member union, hoping it would bolster their candidates in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – hotly contested industrial states considered crucial to Electoral College victories in November. Crucial.
Union leaders held face-to-face meetings with each candidate to seek policy commitments. But those promises were not fulfilled, according to a statement from the union explaining that it did not support the decision.
“It’s unfortunate that both major candidates have failed to make a serious commitment to our union to ensure that the interests of working people always come before big business,” Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement.
“We sought commitments from Trump and Harris not to interfere with the vital union movement or the core Teamsters industry and to respect our members’ right to strike, but were unable to deliver on those commitments.”
Trump more popular in member polls
O’Brien encouraged the union’s politically diverse members to stay active during the election season.
“Democrats, Republicans and independents are proud to call our union home, and we have a responsibility to represent and respect each and every one of them,” O’Brien added. “We strongly encourage all members to vote in the upcoming elections and remain engaged in the political process. But this year, no presidential candidate has been endorsed by the International Teamsters Union.
However, by Wednesday night, locals in battleground states such as Wisconsin, Nevada and Michigan announced they would support Harris, along with other locals who had earlier voiced their support.
“Like these locals, the Vice President has the overwhelming support of organized labor because while she has spent her career supporting labor, Donald Trump celebrates firing striking workers while his 2025 plan agenda will Fundamentally undermines the right to organize,” the campaign said in a statement.
The 32-member Teamsters Council, which represents members in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, also endorsed Harris.
In an electronic poll released by the union on Wednesday, rank-and-file truckers preferred Republican Trump to Harris, 59.6 percent to 34 percent.
The Trump campaign touted the poll results in a statement.
“While the Teamsters’ executive committee has not made a formal endorsement, the vast majority of rank-and-file workers in this important organization want President Donald Trump to return to the White House,” the unsigned statement reads.
Biden gains support in early straw poll
The electronic poll’s results are a reversal from previous polls, which showed members favoring President Joe Biden 44.3% to 36.3%. Biden dropped out of the race in July and endorsed Harris.
The very question of who the Teamsters will support marks a major shift for the Republican Party. Unions including Teamsters have historically supported Democrats.
Trump’s populist appeal seems to break with this tradition.
O’Brien gave a prime-time address at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer, although he did not endorse Trump. This is the first time in the Teamsters’ 121-year history that a Teamsters president has attended the Republican National Convention.
Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was a teachers union member before entering politics.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
