Kamala Harris Will Meet With Teamsters Union
Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to highlight her vision of the future if she wins the 2024 presidential election.
“We look forward to Vice President Harris joining a roundtable of rank-and-file Teamsters to discuss the issues of importance to workers,” a Teamsters spokesperson confirmed. The meeting will happen at an unspecified date, with the Harris campaign revealing they accepted the union’s invite Friday.
More from Sourcing Journal
US Election Puts Business Focus on Trade, Tariffs and Labor Issues
Dueling Strike and Lockout Notices Put Canadian Rail on the Brink
The campaign has already received multiple high-profile labor endorsements including the Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union (RWDSU), the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the AFL-CIO.
But an endorsement from the 1.3-million-member union would be another logistics labor victory for the Democratic nominee’s campaign in that it pulls in some support from laborers like warehouse workers and delivery drivers.
Last month, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents the dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports, endorsed Harris for president, citing her history with the union as well as “her support for workers and the labor movement” as California Attorney General and state Senator.
That’s not to say Harris’ campaign isn’t going to have opposition within certain areas of logistics even with union support. A major issue working in the Republican ticket’s favor is vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance’s backing of multiple trucker-friendly bills that would expand truck parking projects and eliminate of legislation that would require speed-limiting devices.
The Teamsters have not endorsed either Harris or her opponent, former President Donald Trump, and likely will not decide until after the DNC concludes Thursday.
Teamsters president Sean O’Brien did not get an invitation to speak at this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. While O’Brien requested a speaking slot, he never received a reply, according to the union.
The Teamsters boss did get the invite to the Republican National Convention, where he called for labor reform across hot-button areas like bankruptcy laws, corporate welfare and legal protections for union workers seeking unionization or a new contract.
O’Brien’s speech was the first time a head of the union spoke at the RNC in its 121-year history.
The union has given official support to a candidate in every election since 1996, but a Reuters report indicated that divisions within the Teamsters could result in no backing of either candidate.
But on Thursday, the Teamsters shared a post on X criticizing Trump’s comments to Elon Musk in an interview, where the Republican candidate said: “They go on strike and you say, that’s OK, you’re all gone. So every one of you is gone.”
Sharing a statement from O’Brien, the Teamsters post responded, “Firing workers for organizing, striking, and exercising their rights as Americans is economic terrorism.”
The union held roundtables with both Trump and President Joe Biden this year and has hosted more than 300 local events with workers to gauge their opinions on the presidential election. At the time, Trump acknowledged that the union normally backed Democrats, but regarding a possible Teamsters endorsement, “Stranger things have happened.”
According to AP VoteCast, 56 percent of union members and households backed Biden in 2020.
The National Black Caucus of the Teamsters didn’t wait to make their endorsement when endorsing Harris last Tuesday, calling the Democratic candidate “a key partner in leading the most pro-labor administration in our lifetimes.”
Caucus chair James Curbeam didn’t hold back in a statement on the decision, saying Trump’s “record against Black people, women and workers is indefensible.”
“When people show you who they are, believe them and Trump showed us for 40 years who he really is: someone who is not for us,” Curbeam said. “Endorsing a candidate with his history would be a betrayal of the values that we have fought to uphold.”
As both candidates await the opinion of the wider union, Harris unveiled a peek into the campaign’s economic plan Friday, which has a heavy emphasis on lowering prices for average consumers. In particular, Harris is targeting grocery prices with a federal ban on price gouging, as food prices are up 21 percent from three years ago.
The plan also outlined the basic details of a four-year plan to lower housing costs, including building 3 million new housing units, creating tax incentives for starter home construction and expanding down-payment support for first-time homeowners.