The General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced Wednesday that it will not endorse any candidate for U.S. President.
After conducting six months of nationwide member polling and nearly a year of rank-and-file roundtable discussions with major candidates, the union found little commitment from either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris on key issues important to Teamsters members.
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While straw polls conducted between April and July indicated strong support for President Joe Biden before his exit from the race, subsequent electronic and phone polling between July and September revealed that a majority of voting members leaned toward Trump over Harris for a potential endorsement. However, there was no clear majority support for either candidate among the broader membership.
“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.
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“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.”
During the union’s Presidential Roundtables, concerns were raised by members in industries affected by the Railway Labor Act (RLA), such as those in the railroad and airline sectors, who have faced government intervention in their labor negotiations.
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Despite discussions with both Trump and Harris, neither candidate committed to refraining from such interventions in the future, which the union argues undermines workers’ bargaining power.
While Harris pledged to sign the PRO Act, a crucial labor law strengthening union protections, and spoke out against “right to work” laws, Trump did not commit to vetoing national “right to work” legislation if re-elected.
“‘Right to work’ laws only exist to try to kill labor unions,” said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman. “It is a red line for the Teamsters and must be for any union when a candidate for elected office does not oppose such anti-worker legislation. It’s too important an issue for the labor movement as a whole to be left up to state legislatures.”
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