Posted September 19, 2024 | by KimS | in 2024 Presidential Election, Biden Administration, DemDaily, Democratic Party, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Labor

DemDaily: Teamsters Split Over Support

September 19. 2024

The nation's labor unions have united behind the presidential ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, with the notable exception of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) which announced yesterday that "no candidate for President has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters’ International Union.

IBT General President Sean O'Brien said after a review of extensive nationwide member polling and rank-and-file roundtable interviews with the candidates, the union "found no definitive support among members for either party’s nominee."

The Teamsters: Although known as the champion of freight drivers and warehouse workers, the fiercely independent 1.3 million-member union represents 1,900 Teamster affiliates across every industry, both professional and non-professional, private sector and public sector, in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

The Teamsters: Although known as the champion of freight drivers and warehouse workers, the fiercely independent 1.3 million-member union represents 1,900 Teamster affiliates across every industry, both professional and non-professional, private sector and public sector, in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

While the Teamsters have endorsed every Democratic candidate for president since 2000, they have previously supported Republicans -- including President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and Vice President George HW Bush in 1988.

"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 O’Brien.

While Harris pledged, if elected, to sign the PRO Act, an essential piece of labor legislation strengthening union protections, and criticized dangerous "right to work" laws that are enacted to bankrupt unions, Trump would not commit to vetoing national RTW legislation if he returned to the White House.

However neither candidate, according to O'Brien, would promise not to interfere in labor negotiations under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which is subject to the mercy of government intervention that often prevents work stoppage. In 2022, some 28,000 Teamsters members who work under the RLA were forced to accept a new contract implemented by Congress without member support.

Member straw polls showed President Joe Biden, who prided himself as the "most pro-labor president in history," won the support of local unions between April-July prior to his exit from the race. But in independent electronic and phone polling following the Democratic National Convention and recent Presidential debate, Teamsters selected Trump by 58% for endorsement over 31% for Harris.

"Democrats, Republicans, and Independents proudly call our union home, and we have a duty to represent and respect every one of them," said O'Brien.

To great controversy, O’Brien, who was sworn in as the Teamster's 11th General President in March 2022, spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July, becoming the first union president to do so -- outraging Democrats who felt betrayed in light of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts on behalf of working families.

Following Trump's August 12 interview with billionaire Tesla CEO and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk -- in which the former president praised the megalomaniac's mass firing of organizing Twitter employees in late 2022, saying, "You’re the greatest cutter” -- O'Brien said, “Firing workers for organizing, striking, and exercising their rights as Americans is economic terrorism.”

The IBT's National Black Caucus did not wait for approval from the international, endorsing Harris for the presidency August 13.

Of Harris and Waltz, the caucus said in a statement, “Their records reflect a deep dedication to advancing labor rights and supporting working-class Americans. As a key partner in leading the most pro-labor administration in our lifetimes, Vice President Harris has proven to be a tough and principled fighter for workers’ rights and a leader who delivers on her promises.”

Regional, State and Local Teamsters Endorse
The international union's decision not to officially back either political party candidate releases affiliates to endorse individually, with at least a dozen rushing to declare their support for Harris and Walz in the last 24 hours.

At least eight regional councils covering active Teamsters members in some 14 states have endorsed Harris -- representing close to 600,000 Teamsters members, and more are expected to follow.

“Michigan Teamsters President Kevin Moore and the Executive Board, on behalf of 245,000 active and retired Teamsters, enthusiastically endorse the Harris-Walz campaign. We strongly support their continued commitment to the issues that matter most to working families and our nation's middle class. Both...have consistently demonstrated their dedication to championing the labor movement, safeguarding social security, and ensuring access to quality health care for all Americans, including women's reproductive rights." - Joint Council 43

“Michigan Teamsters President Kevin Moore and the Executive Board, on behalf of 245,000 active and retired Teamsters, enthusiastically endorse the Harris-Walz campaign. We strongly support their continued commitment to the issues that matter most to working families and our nation's middle class. Both...have consistently demonstrated their dedication to championing the labor movement, safeguarding social security, and ensuring access to quality health care for all Americans, including women's reproductive rights." - Joint Council 43

"The path [for Trump] getting to the White House is going to start in Michigan," said Joint Council 43 President Kevin Moore."We're going to make sure that's not an obtainable goal for him."

Separately, powerful IBT locals in Philadelphia, New York City, Long Beach, and Miami have endorsed Harris and urged members to vote for her.

West Coast Teamsters Joint Councils 7 and 42 -- which comprise 39 local unions representing 300,000 members in California, Nevada, Hawaii, Saipan, and Guam -- declared their strong support of Harris within minutes of national leadership's announcement not to endorse.

No regional or local Teamsters organizations have endorsed Trump.

Of Note: Although a majority of national labor endorsed Biden in 2020, Donald Trump, who launched an assault on worker's rights during his presidency, still secured 40% of the vote in union households compared to Biden's 56%.