Teamsters Board Decides To Make No Presidential Endorsement This Cycle

Ted Johnson
·3 min read
9

UPDATED, with West Coast Teamsters endorsement: The board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said that it would make no presidential endorsement this cycle.

Very soon after the announcement, the Joint Councils 7 and Joint Council 42, representing members in California, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam, announced that they were backing Kamala Harris.

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Sean O’Brien, the general president of the Teamsters, said in a statement, “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 [Donald} 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.”

The decision came after the union released polling data of its members showing that Trump was favored by 58% for endorsement, and Harris was favored by 31%. The poll was conducted by Lake Research Partners.

In a statement, the union said that “extensive member polling showed no majority support for Vice President Harris and no universal support among the membership for President Trump.”

O’Brien broke with longtime tradition and spoke at the Republican National Convention this summer.

Harris had met with the board earlier this week, and Trump earlier this year.

The union credited Harris with pledging to sign the PRO Act, a longtime piece of the legislation that would strengthen protections for unions, but the union noted that neither she nor Trump would promise not to intervene to force railroad contracts under the Railway Labor Act. Trump, meanwhile, would not commit to veto national “right to work” legislation if he returned to the White House, the union said.

A union official suggested that was why Trump, despite majority support of members, failed to garner an endorsement.

Fred Zuckerman, general secretary treasurer of the Teamsters, said that right to work laws are “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.”

In endorsing Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, Joint Council 42 President Chris Griswold said in a statement that members “deserve a committed administration that will relentlessly advocate for their rights, ensure their safety, and prioritize the needs of working people.”

Peter Finn, president of Teamsters Joint Council 7, said in a statement, “Teamster members work and live in cities as well as in rural communities, come from diverse backgrounds, and have different views, but Joint Council 7 and 42 Teamsters refuse to be divided by extremist political forces or greedy corporations that want to see us fail.”

Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, cited the poll findings and said in a statement, “While the Teamsters Executive Board is making no formal endorsement, the hardworking members of the Teamsters have been loud and clear— they want President Trump back in the White House!”

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