In another first, Teamsters make no endorsement for president

The unionā€™s leader stated that no candidate for president had earned the endorsement of the Teamsters. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

For the first time in its history, the Teamsters union has announced it will make no endorsement for president this election year.

The decision comes after the unionā€™s executive board reviewed several months of membership polling on which candidate to endorse. The results of this poll along with several others were published by the union on X.

From April 9 to July 3, nearly 300 Teamsters locals nationwide conducted first-of-their-kind presidential town halls to solicit endorsement preferences from members via straw polls. The in-person voting was held prior to President Joe Bidenā€™s withdrawal from the race. The Teamstersā€™ polling data shows members backed Biden 44.3% to Donald Trump 36.3%.

Following the Republican National Convention and Bidenā€™s exit, the Teamsters commissioned a national electronic poll of its 1.3 million members, overseen by an independent third party. During a voting window from July 24 to Sept. 15, rank-and-file Teamsters voted 59.6% for the union to endorse Trump, compared to 34% for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

In the past week, following the Democratic National Convention and recent presidential debate, the Teamsters commissioned independent polling firm Lake Research Partners to conduct the unionā€™s final national survey. This phone poll resulted in Teamsters selecting Trump by 58% for endorsement over 31% for Harris.

ā€œFor the past year, the Teamsters Union has pledged to conduct the most inclusive, democratic, and transparent Presidential endorsement process in the history of our 121-year-old organization ā€” and today we are delivering on that promise to our members,ā€ said Teamsters General President Sean Oā€™Brien in a news release from the union sent before the decision not to endorse was made. ā€œOur members are the union, and their voices and opinions must be at the forefront of everything the Teamsters do. Our final decision around a possible Presidential endorsement will not be made lightly, but you can be sure it will be driven directly by our diverse membership.ā€

The Teamsters union is made up of over 1.3 million members across the U.S., and is widely considered a powerful voting bloc for politicians to court. While the Teamsters endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020, the 2024 decision not to endorse comes late in an already tumultuous election season.

The Teamsters made history earlier this summer when Oā€™Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention, marking a first for the usually Democratic-leaning labor union. Oā€™Brien had also requested to speak at the Democratic National Convention a month later but never received a response from the DNC.