Teamsters Decide Not to Endorse a Candidate for President

WASHINGTON — One of the nation’s largest labor organizations, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, has decided not to endorse any candidate in this year’s presidential election.

“After reviewing six months of nationwide member polling and wrapping up nearly a year of rank-and-file roundtable interviews with all major candidates for the presidency, the union was left with 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 said in a press release.

“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,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said as part of the announcement.

The decision came just over an hour after the union released the results of a membership-wide poll that showed a majority of members plan to support Trump in the upcoming relation.

The poll capped a yearlong canvassing of members that O’Brien called “the most inclusive, democratic and transparent presidential endorsement process in the history of our 121-year-old organization.”

The process began in April with the first of a series of town halls at Teamsters locals at which members were asked their endorsement preferences via a straw poll.

In all, 300 of these town halls were held through July 3, and at the end of them, President Joe Biden won the backing of 44.3% of the members to Trump’s 36.3%.

Following the Republican National Convention and Biden’s withdrawal from the race in late July, the Teamsters commissioned a national electronic poll of its 1.3 million members, overseen by an independent poll group.

That poll, which was conducted between July 24 and Sept. 15, saw 59.6% of members voting to endorse Trump, compared to 34% for Harris.

This past week, following the Democratic National Convention and the recent presidential debate hosted by ABC News, the Teamsters asked the independent polling firm Lake Research Partners to conduct the union’s final national survey.

In that poll, Teamsters selected Trump by 58% for endorsement over 31% for Harris.

But in the end, the polls were only part of the process. Also figuring significantly in the Teamsters deliberations were a series of “rank-and-file” presidential roundtables the union held with the candidates.

Trump spoke with Teamsters members in January, while Harris did so earlier this month.

During these sessions, the union shared feedback from members in the railroad and airline industries who work under the Railway Labor Act and are at the mercy of government intervention that often prevents work stoppages. 

Currently, about 10,000 Teamsters at United Airlines are negotiating a new agreement, but the union is still smarting from the fact that tens of thousands of railroad Teamsters were forced to accept a new contract that they did not support after Congress intervened and prevented a potential strike in 2022.

The Teamsters noted that during its roundtable discussions with Trump and Harris, neither candidate promised not to intervene to force similar RLA contracts.

The union contends such interventions undermine workers’ bargaining leverage.

The Teamsters noted that in its discussion with Harris, she pledged, if elected, to sign the PRO Act, which would dramatically expand protections related to employees’ rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace.

Harris also criticized the “right to work” laws that have been enacted in 27 states that guarantee an employee’s right to refrain from being a member of a labor union.

Trump, the Teamsters said, would not commit to veto national “right to work” legislation if he returned to the White House.

“‘Right to work’ laws only exist to try to kill labor unions,” said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman on Wednesday. 

“It is a red line for the Teamsters and must be for any union when a candidate for elected office does not oppose such anti-worker legislation. It’s too important an issue for the labor movement as a whole to be left up to state legislatures,” he said.

The Teamsters’ decision was announced as its executive board wrapped up a series of meetings that had been going on since Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

In explaining its decision not to endorse a candidate, the board said the union’s extensive member polling showed no majority support for Harris and no universal support among the membership for Trump.

“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 said. “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.

“Our mission as union representatives is clear: to be honest and upfront, to be inclusive and, above all, to be transparent with our membership,” he continued. “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.”

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue