By The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has on Wednesday, 18th of September, 2024 announced that the union will not endorse any U.S. presidential candidate despite polling that showed a majority of members backed Republican candidate Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris.
In a statement, the union said it had “few commitments on top Teamsters issues from either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris—and found no definitive support among members for either party’s nominee.”
The Teamsters is one of the largest unions in the U.S., with 1.3 million members, including large numbers of transportation and public works employees.
Although the Teamsters have endorsed Democrats since 1996, when it did not endorse a candidate, Teamsters president Sean O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention in July. The last time the Teamsters endorsed the GOP candidate in a presidential election was in 1988 for then-candidate George H.W. Bush. They also endorsed Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984 and Richard Nixon in 1972.
In the announcement of their decision Wednesday, the labor union cited a lack of commitment from both Trump and Harris to “not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries—and to honor our members’ right to strike.” The union said neither candidate pledged to avoid government intervention in railroad or airline strikes.
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