Teamsters union won’t endorse in 2024 presidential race

For the first time in 30 years the powerful union has stayed neutral, saying it has been given ‘few commitments on top Teamsters issues’ from either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

The powerful Teamsters Union won’t endorse with Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Picture: AFP.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said it wouldn’t issue an endorsement in the 2024 presidential campaign, the first time the powerful union has stayed neutral in nearly three decades.

The union said Wednesday that it was “left with few commitments on top Teamsters issues from either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris – and found no definitive support among members for either party’s nominee.” The announcement puts to rest a saga over the 1.3-million member union’s endorsement process, which was punctuated by a speech by Sean O’Brien, the organisation’s general president, to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and his praise of Mr Trump.

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The decision marks a blow for Ms Harris, who becomes the first Democratic presidential nominee not to win the endorsement since 1996. A number of Teamsters local unions, including one in Philadelphia, have already endorsed the vice president. A council of Teamsters locals representing 300,000 workers in California, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam announced their support for her Wednesday. She also has the backing of several other major labour organisations.

Teamsters Union members picket at the Marathon Petroleum Detroit refinery in Detroit, Michigan. Picture: Getty Images via AFP.

The Teamsters, which represents freight drivers and warehouse workers, last issued no endorsement when President Bill Clinton sought re-election. The last Republican presidential candidate the union backed was George H.W. Bush in 1988.

Ahead of Wednesday’s announcement, the union released an electronic member poll that it said showed Mr Trump with 59.6 per cent support among its membership while Ms Harris had 34 per cent support and 6.4 per cent backed other candidates. The union didn’t release the methodology behind the poll, which was conducted from July 24-Sept. 15.

A separate phone poll conducted by the union showed Mr Trump with 58 per cent support, Ms Harris with 31 per cent and 6 per cent undecided. Five per cent said they didn’t know under the poll conducted by Lake Research Partners Sept. 9-15.

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The data stands in contrast to national polls showing Ms Harris leading Mr Trump among union households. Voters who belong to unions or live with a union member backed President Biden by 14 points in 2020, giving him 56 per cent support, to 42 per cent for Mr Trump, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of people who voted that year.

In the July RNC speech, O’Brien said the union wouldn’t be beholden to any political party and praised Mr Trump as “one tough S.O.B.” in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on the former president during a Pennsylvania rally. He accused large corporations of “economic terrorism” and called out efforts to block unionisation.

O’Brien’s speech infuriated some members of the union and rank-and-file Democrats, who argued that he had given Mr Trump cover with working-class voters despite wielding anti-union policies as president, including filling vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board with corporate lawyers who often sided with management in labour disputes.

Richard Hooker, the principal officer of Teamsters’ local 623, which represents about 5,000 workers in Philadelphia, said the international union’s decision was “unfortunate” because he said Mr Trump represented to labour “nothing but negativity, nothing but chaos.” He said every local union leader would need to engage with their members ahead of the election.

O’Brien’s efforts to address the Democratic National Convention were rebuffed. The Teamsters’ leadership held private meetings with Mr Trump earlier this year and Ms Harris this week.

During their Monday meeting, O’Brien said union officials and Ms Harris discussed legislation to expand unionisation efforts and bankruptcy reform.

Kamala Harris speaks at an event in Washington. Picture: Getty Images via AFP.

Ms Harris noted her work to protect the pensions of union workers and retirees and told O’Brien that she likely faced a 50-50 chance of gaining the union’s endorsement, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

Lauren Hitt, a Harris spokesperson, said Ms Harris “has literally walked the picket line and stood strong with organised labour for her entire career.” Corey Lewandowski, a Trump campaign adviser, said in a Fox News interview that the union decided not to endorse “because they know that the rank-and-file, those people who have to get up and go to work every single day … they’re with Donald Trump.” Ms Harris and Mr Trump have sought support among blue-collar voters, including in the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Organised labour has shown signs of division, with many rank-and-file members backing Mr Trump but the union’s leadership siding with Ms Harris.

Before ending his re-election bid, Biden aggressively courted union voters and the president picked up the endorsements of major labour unions, including the AFL-CIO federation. When Biden exited the campaign, major unions shifted their support to Ms Harris.

The Teamsters remained free agents, however, with O’Brien noting that the union had waited until after the summer conventions to endorse a candidate, as the union did in 2016 and 2020.

Dow Jones