The International Teamsters union on Wednesday rejected its endorsement of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump for president, saying neither candidate has enough support from the union’s 1.3 million members.
“Unfortunately, neither major candidate has been able to seriously promise our union that workers’ interests will always come before big business,” Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement. “We asked both Trump and Harris for a commitment to not interfere in vital union work or in the Teamsters’ core industries, and to respect our members’ right to strike, but we did not receive that commitment.”
The Teamsters’ rejection reflects a labor union divided over political identity and policy issues that reflect a broader national divide. Vice President Harris has been undeniably pro-union, while former President Trump has won the support of many white blue-collar workers while at times openly disparaging unions. By not winning anyone’s endorsement, the Teamsters are giving up some of their influence in the November election, after both candidates claimed to have the backing of Teamsters members.
Harris campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt noted in an emailed statement that more than 30 former Teamsters members spoke in support of Harris at last month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Their pensions were protected by the 2021 passage of the Butch Lewis Act, a bill championed by Biden and Harris.
“While Donald Trump has said striking workers should be fired, Vice President Harris has literally been on the picket line and has taken on labor unions throughout her career,” Hitt said. “The Vice President’s strong record of labor union activism is why Teamsters chapters across the country have already endorsed her, along with the overwhelming majority of union members.”
The Teamsters announced on Wednesday that an internal survey of their membership showed Trump ahead of Harris, a fact that the Republican campaign quickly seized on, sending out an email stating, “The rank-and-file membership of the Teamsters union endorses Donald Trump for president.”
Ms. Harris met Monday with members of the National Federation of Labor Unions, a party that has long courted the backing of labor unions and made helping the middle class a key policy goal. Mr. Trump also met with members of the National Federation of Labor Unions and invited Mr. O’Brien to speak at the Republican National Convention, where union leaders have railed against corporate greed.
The Teamsters’ choice not to endorse came just weeks before the Nov. 5 election and much later than the endorsements of other large labor unions, including the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers and the United Auto Workers, which chose to devote resources to encouraging votes for Harris.
Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University, said he was not surprised the union decided not to endorse O’Brien, who faced backlash from some Teamsters members after he spoke at the Republican convention.
Wheaton said Trump’s support was highly unlikely after he praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk for saying he would fire Musk if his workers went on strike, and “members were not in total agreement.”
Malick Masters, a professor emeritus of business at Wayne State University in Detroit who studies labor issues, said the Teamsters’ lack of support suggests a realignment of their membership.
Masters said that for many workers, issues like gun control, abortion and border security are more important than President Trump’s stated hostility toward labor unions.
In a statement, the Teamsters detailed their opposition to the candidates, including their opposition to the Legislature’s 2022 contract that applies to union members who work in the railroad sector.
Unions had asked both candidates to promise not to invoke rail labor laws to resolve contract disputes and avoid shutting down the nation’s infrastructure, but both Harris and Trump wanted to keep that option open, something the Teamsters argued would weaken their negotiating power.
Harris has pledged to sign the PRO Act, which would strengthen union protections, and is supported by the Teamsters. She has also criticized states for enacting laws that make it harder to unionize. President Trump, during a roundtable with the Teamsters in January, did not commit to veto proposals that would make it harder to unionize nationwide.
Other unions have expressed reservations about backing one of the two presidential candidates. The United Electrical, Radio and Mechanical Workers union ultimately endorsed Harris on Friday, but with the caveat that “the manner in which party leaders have replaced Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris as their top choice has been completely undemocratic,” union officials said in a statement.
But the Teamsters’ lack of support signals disinterest from the Biden-Harris administration, which passed legislation that would save the pensions of millions of union retirees, including those affiliated with the Teamsters.
As part of the 2021 pandemic aid package, the administration included the Butch Lewis Act to relieve shortfalls in pensions and retiree benefits for more than 1 million union members. The legislation is named after the retired Ohio truck driver and Teamsters union leader, who spent his final years fighting to block massive cuts to the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund.
Bork and Krisher are Associated Press contributors. Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.
