For the first time in its history, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters will not endorse a candidate for president.
The General Executive Board of the 1.3 million-member union Wednesday announced that after reviewing six months of nationwide member polling and wrapping up nearly a year of rank-and-file roundtable interviews with all major candidates for the presidency, the union said 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.
According to a statement from the union, its member polling showed no majority support for Vice President Harris and no universal support among the membership for President Trump.
However, some union locals have issues endorsements of their own, many for the Harris/Walz ticket. The Teamsters Joint Councils 7 and 42 — made up of 39 local unions representing 300,000 members in California, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam — announced its support of Vice President Harris. The Teamsters’ National Black Caucus also added its support to the vice president, as did Local 237, the largest local, representing 24,000 workers in New York City and Long Island. Teamsters Joint Council 32 representing Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin also announced its support of Harris/Walz. So did Teamsters in Michigan.
“The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables. Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business. We sought commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries—and to honor our members’ right to strike—but were unable to secure those pledges,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien in a statement.
“Our mission as union representatives is clear: to be honest and upfront, to be inclusive and, above all, to be transparent with our membership. As the strongest and most democratic labor union in America, it was vital for our members to drive this endorsement process. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents proudly call our union home, and we have a duty to represent and respect every one of them. We strongly encourage all our members to vote in the upcoming election, and to remain engaged in the political process. But this year, no candidate for President has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters’ International Union.”
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