For the first time since 1996, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is refusing to endorse any U.S. presidential candidate.
The union of 1.3 million people announced The long-awaited decision by its general executive board on Wednesday. Alleging that both Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris had failed to make “serious commitments to our union to ensure that the interests of workers always come before those of big business,” IBT General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement that in 2024 “no presidential candidate has earned the endorsement” of his union.
In particular, O’Brien added, the candidates did not commit to avoiding intervention in the industries represented by the Teamsters or in Teamster campaigns. (In 2022, Congress intervened during contract negotiations to prevent a national railroad strike and “tens of thousands of railroad Teamsters were forced to accept a new contract implemented by Congress without membership support,” the union argued.) The general president also said the candidates did not promise to “honor our members’ right to strike.”
The union announced its decision after revealing the results of internal membership survey The study found that while President Joe Biden was still in the U.S. presidential race, union members largely supported his candidacy (44.3 percent) over Trump’s (36.3 percent). When Harris rose as the Democratic nominee, electronic polls showed Trump winning the majority (59.6 percent) over Harris (34 percent). Informal polls showed similar results: Trump won 58 percent support to Harris’s 31 percent.
This year’s decision ends a streak of Teamsters union endorsements of Democratic presidential candidates that began with the 2000 election.
O’Brien, who was elected IBT general president in 2021, beating out longtime president James P. Hoffa, was clear from the start of this year’s election that he wanted to do things differently this time around. O’Brien, who sparked controversy among some members of his union, met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate and at Teamsters headquarters in Washington, D.C. this year and became the first Teamsters president to speak at the Republican National Convention. He was subsequently not extended an invitation to the Democratic National Convention, he said, though Harris met with union leaders on Monday in an attempt to win his support.
Harris has won the endorsements of many other prominent American labor groups, including the United Auto Workers union, the American Federation of Teachers, the United Food and Commercial Workers International and the United Steelworkers union. Entertainment unions such as the Actors’ Equity Association, the Writers Guild of America West and the American Federation of Musicians have followed suit. Trump, meanwhile, has won the backing of the Fraternal Order of Police and other law enforcement groups.
On Wednesday afternoon, shortly after the international union’s announcement, two joint councils representing hundreds of thousands of union members in California, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam and the California Public Affairs Council announced his support for HarrisThe group joined a handful of local Teamsters unions that previously responded by moving away from the international stance and supporting Harris.
One of the joint councils involved, No. 42, includes Local 399, which represents drivers, casting directors, location professionals and other entertainment industry workers. Local 399 Director Lindsay Dougherty serves on Joint Council 42’s executive board as a trustee.
“The 250,000 Teamsters working in California are vital to the American economy, not only by producing and transporting goods, but also by providing essential services in the public and private sectors,” said Chris Griswold, President of Joint Council 42. “They deserve an administration that puts workers first.”
