For the first time in almost 30 years, the Teamsters Union chose not to endorse a presidential candidate this year, making Kamala Harris the first Democrat in more than two decades not to be backed by the organization.
Since 1996, the Teamsters have thrown their collective support behind Democratic presidential candidates such as Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and, most recently, Joe Biden. Former Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush were also backed by the Teamsters.
Before the current president dropped out of the 2024 election race, a union poll showed 44% of members supported him. A more recent poll, however, revealed that nearly 60% support former President Donald Trump, while just 31% support the vice president. Yet the organization decided not to endorse Trump. Why?
The organization’s press release states: “The union’s extensive member polling showed no majority support for Vice President Harris and no universal support among the membership for President Trump.” In fact, though the union members favored Biden over Trump between April and July, before the president’s exit from the race, the current numbers are vastly different. “But in independent electronic and phone polling from July-September, a majority of voting members twice [emphasis added] selected Trump for a possible Teamsters endorsement over Harris.”
As Liberty Nation News Chief Political Correspondent Graham Noble said, “It appears Kamala Harris needed 51% support from the members to get an endorsement and Trump needed 100%.”
So why are the Teamsters refusing to back a presidential candidate this year?
Teamsters Decline to Endorse
The title of the Teamsters’ press release reads: “International Union Cites Strong Political Divides, Few Commitments from Candidates.”
Roundtable meetings were held to discuss the policies and campaigns of the presidential candidates as they relate to the union. The Teamsters claim neither Harris nor Trump would promise not to interfere in union campaigns and wouldn't commit to honoring their members’ right to strike. As an example, they highlighted feedback from members of the railroad and airline industries who work under the Railway Labor Act. “While 10,000 Teamsters at United Airlines are currently negotiating a new agreement, tens of thousands of railroad Teamsters were forced to accept a new contract implemented by Congress without member support in 2022,” according to the press release.
This year has seen a lot of firsts, including Harris being handed the Democratic Party presidential nomination without a single primary win – and now the Teamsters not endorsing either candidate for the White House. In another first, the union’s president, Sean O’Brien, was invited to speak at the Republican National Convention in July, where he vowed to work with Republican lawmakers. Conversely, the union boss was not invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention, which raised more than a few eyebrows.
“President Trump had the backbone to open the doors to this Republican convention, and that’s unprecedented. No other nominee in the race would’ve invited the Teamsters into this arena,” O’Brien said at the time.
David Marcus wrote an op-ed for Fox News after speaking to several union workers and found that most supported Trump over Harris. A retired Teamster who had voted for Biden told Marcus that he was supporting Trump now. “But you want facts? Let’s give grocery facts, let’s give electricity facts, let’s give gas facts, let’s give every fact between when he was elected and now.”
Marcus wrote, “If this huge tidal wave of Teamster votes to Trump is reflected in other unions such as the United Auto Workers Union, or service sector unions, and from the working people I’ve spoken to, I suspect it is, the electoral implications could be profound.”
Trump’s campaign was quick to bask in the win, even though the former president wasn’t endorsed. “President Trump fights for America’s working men and women,” the campaign said. His "agenda will bring tax relief and reverse the inflation that hurts working families the most."
During a Fox News interview yesterday afternoon (Sept. 18), Trump said, “The Teamsters carry a lot of weight … [I]t was always automatic that the Democrats get the Teamsters, and they said we won’t endorse the Democrats this year, so that was an honor for me.”
The Teamsters’ decision not to endorse a presidential candidate sends a powerful message: the working class is no longer a guaranteed vote for any candidate. Furthermore, the fact that Harris needed just 51% of members' support compared to Trump needing “universal” approval – because that’s what the Teamsters statement clearly implies – reveals a deep imbalance in the process. Choosing not to make a choice may turn out to be a stronger message than if they had actually made an endorsement.
