For the first time in decades, one of the nation’s largest and most influential labor unions is refusing to endorse a Democrat for president. Representing nearly one-and-a-half million American workers, the Teamsters Union announced late Wednesday that it would not be endorsing either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump in this year’s presidential race.
This marks the first time since 1996 that the Teamsters have not endorsed a presidential candidate. Previously, the union has overwhelmingly endorsed Democrats for president, including endorsing now-President Joe Biden in 2020. The Teamsters have not endorsed a Republican presidential candidate since George H.W. Bush in 1988.
“The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables,” Teamsters’ International Union General President Sean O’Brien 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,” O’Brien continued. “We sought commitments from both 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.”
“As the strongest and most democratic labor union in America, it was vital for our members to drive this endorsement process. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents proudly call our union home, and we have a duty to represent and respect every one of them,” O’Brien added. “We strongly encourage all our members to vote in the upcoming election, and to remain engaged in the political process. But this year, no candidate for President has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters’ International Union.”
In comments to The Washington Stand, FRC Action Director Matt Carpenter said, “To see the Teamsters decline to endorse the Democratic nominee for president is not something I thought I would ever see in my lifetime. Since the 2016 election, we have seen the emergence of a truly stunning realignment in the coalitions that make up the two-party system in American politics.” He explained, “The GOP, once home to free trade absolutists and corporate America, has transformed into the home of working men and women, while the Democratic Party has morphed into a party of the upwardly-mobile, high-income, and college-educated.”
Carpenter added, “While the Teamsters opted not to endorse Donald Trump, and instead opted to decline an endorsement of either candidate, they did release polling of their members showing by almost two-to-one they prefer a second Trump term to a Harris administration.”
The Teamsters did release internal polling data, also on Wednesday, asking union members who the 121-year-old organization should endorse for president. According to electronic polling conducted from late July to September 15, nearly 60% said the union should back Trump, while only 34% went with Harris. The remaining 6.4% of polled Teamsters said “other candidates.” A phone poll conducted from September 9 to September 16 found little difference, except a noticeable decline in support for Harris, with 58% of Teamsters backing Trump and only 31% backing Harris. The remaining 11% were almost evenly split between “undecided” and “don’t know.” Polling conducted prior to Biden dropping out of the presidential race found nearly 45% of Teamsters supported Biden, 36.3% supported Trump, and the remaining 7% were split among third-party candidates.
Trump himself commented on the Teamsters’ refusal to back Harris. “The Teamsters for many, many decades always automatically support the Democrats. This year, they refused to do it,” the 45th president said in an interview Wednesday night. He continued, “They took a poll and we got 60% in the poll, in the Teamsters. They’re not gonna support the Democrat this year, they’re gonna — I guess remain neutral. But that was sort of a big event. Nobody ever expected a thing like that to happen.” Trump added that a lot of Teamsters workers used to work for him in the construction and real estate development business years prior and referred to O’Brien as a “top guy.”
In July, O’Brien became the first Teamster to speak at the Republican National Convention, at Trump’s invitation. Upon accepting Trump’s warm welcome, O’Brien said, “Anti-union groups demanded the president rescind his invitation. The Left called me a traitor. This is precisely why it is so important for me to be here today.” Referring to Trump being shot in the head and surviving an assassination attempt just days earlier, O’Brien added, “I think we all can agree, whether people like him or they don’t like him, in light of what happened to him on Saturday, he has proven to be one tough S.O.B.” The Teamsters leader also derided economic and labor policies that hurt “American workers,” calling for reform to labor law and bankruptcy law.
Just last month, polling data found that Trump commands a nearly-30-point lead over Harris among white, working-class, and non-college-educated voters nationally. The former president also leads among white, working-class voters across swing states. Earlier this week, Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Flint, Michigan and pledged to increase tariffs on cars made in places like Mexico, in order to bring jobs back to American workers in places like Michigan. “We are going to bring so many auto plants into our country,” Trump promised. “You’re going to be as big or bigger than you were 50 years ago. Because if they’re not willing to build a plant, we don’t want their product.”
S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.
