The International Brotherhood of Teamsters declined to endorse a presidential candidate on Wednesday, even as both parties sought the support of the nation’s largest union.
The group’s board voted against the proposal on Wednesday, citing disagreement among members and the lack of firm commitments on labor issues from the major party candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
The refusal to support the Democrat can be seen as a loss for Harris. The union has supported the Democrat in every presidential election since 2000, including Trump’s opponent Joe Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
All campaigns have sought the support of the 1.3 million-member union in the hope that it would boost their candidate in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – the hotly contested industrial states considered crucial to a victory in the Electoral College in November.
And union leaders met with each candidate face-to-face to seek policy commitments. But those commitments failed to materialize, according to a union statement explaining the decision not to endorse the candidate.
“Unfortunately, neither major candidate has been able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure that the interests of working people are always put ahead of those of big business,” Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien said in the statement.
“We have demanded commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in key union campaigns or core Teamsters industries – and to respect our members’ right to strike – but have not been able to obtain those commitments.”
O’Brien encouraged the union’s politically diverse membership to remain vigorous during the election season.
“Democrats, Republicans and Independents are proud to have our union at home, and we have a duty to represent and respect each of them,” O’Brien added. “We strongly encourage all of our members to vote in the upcoming election and continue to participate in the political process. Yet this year, no presidential candidate has received the endorsement of the Teamsters’ International Union.”
Trump preferred in member poll
In an electronic poll released by the union on Wednesday, rank-and-file Teamsters preferred Republican Trump over Harris by a margin of 59.6 percent to 34 percent.
The Trump team expressed great joy at the poll results in a statement.
“Although the Teamsters Board of Directors does not express formal support, the vast majority of rank-and-file workers in this important organization want President Donald Trump back in the White House,” the unsigned statement said.
The electronic poll results were a reversal of a previous poll that had shown members supporting President Joe Biden by 44.3% to Trump’s 36.3%. Biden dropped out of the race in July and endorsed Harris.
The question of who the Teamsters would support alone marks a clear shift toward the Republicans. Unions, including the Teamsters, have supported the Democrats in the past.
Trump’s populist appeal seems to have shaken this tradition.
O’Brien gave a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer, but did not endorse Trump. It was the first appearance by a Teamsters president at a Republican convention in the group’s 121-year history.
Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, was a member of the teachers union before entering politics.
The Harris team did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
