THE International Brotherhood of Truckers declined to endorse the 2024 presidential race, becoming the only one of the nation’s 10 major unions not to support Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a statement, the union said it had received “little engagement on key Teamster issues from former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, and found no definitive support among the membership for either party’s nominee.”
The Teamsters are one of the largest unions in the United States, with 1.3 million members, including many transportation and public works workers.
Although the Teamsters have supported Democrats since 1996, when they did not endorse any candidate, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention in July. The last time the Teamsters supported the Republican candidate in a presidential election was in 1988, for George H. W. Bush. They also supported Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984 and Richard Nixon in 1972.
In announcing their decision Wednesday, the union cited Trump and Harris’ lack of commitment “not to interfere in critical union campaigns or key Teamsters industries — and to respect our members’ right to strike.” The union said neither candidate had committed to avoiding government intervention in rail or airline strikes. In 2022, Mr. Biden signed legislation that required a labor agreement for rail workers to avoid a strike during the holidays.
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The Teamsters noted that Harris has committed to signing the PRO Act, which would strengthen the right to organize, and that Trump would not commit to vetoing “right to work” legislation in a second term.
O’Brien forced the union’s first-ever roundtable interview process for the 2024 endorsement late last year, inviting all major-party candidates to present their arguments for the union’s support. Union leaders met with former President Donald Trump, as well as President Biden earlier this year. In July, Harris replaced Mr. Biden as the Democratic nominee and met with the Teamsters on Monday.
O’Brien said Monday’s meeting with Harris covered the same issues as previous roundtables with Trump and Biden. O’Brien said rank-and-file members advocated for passing the PRO Act and vetoing any “right to work” legislation. He added that Harris acknowledged the diversity of political views within the Teamsters, while criticizing her Republican opponent during the conversation.
“The roundtable went very well,” O’Brien said. “One important thing is that we held the same roundtable that we’ve held for every presidential candidate that’s run. We asked each candidate the same questions, mostly on Teamster-specific issues. We also asked questions about legislation, like the PRO Act, bankruptcy reform, and antitrust.”
O’Brien said earlier this month on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” He had not yet endorsed Harris for president in 2024 because he had not yet met Harris, and “you don’t hire someone without interviewing them.”
The Teamsters executive committee met Wednesday after its meeting with Harris to discuss the endorsement decision.
The union conducted a poll before Mr. Biden withdrew from the presidential race and found that a majority of its members supported him over Trump, 44% to 36%. But in a subsequent poll of Harris and Trump, the former president got much more support, 60% to 34%, and in a second poll that ended Sept. 15, members again chose Trump by a wide margin, 58% to 31%.
In a statement, Trump’s campaign touted polling results showing support, saying that “while the Teamsters Executive Committee offers no formal endorsement, the vast majority of the rank-and-file men and women who work in this important organization want President Donald Trump back in the White House.”
In response to the Teamsters’ decision, Harris spokeswoman Lauren Hitt touted Harris’ ties to the labor movement, noting that she marched with a United Auto Workers picket line in 2019. Hitt also noted Trump’s recent comments during an interview with Elon Musk suggesting that striking workers should be fired. The United Auto Workers has filed a lawsuit against Harris. federal labor costs against Musk and Trump, accusing them of trying to “intimidate and threaten” workers.
“As the vice president told the Teamsters on Monday, when she is elected president, she will look out for the Teamsters rank and file no matter what,” Hitt added.
“I work with a lot of Republicans … and I get a lot of positive support for Trump,” said Brett Ohnstad, a Teamsters member and Minnesota corrections officer. “But we’re not looking to see who’s going to be the candidate that meets all the criteria. We’re just looking to see who’s going to support working people.”
“Our members are the union, and their voices and opinions must be at the forefront of everything the Teamsters do,” O’Brien said. “Our final decision on a possible presidential endorsement will not be taken lightly, but you can be sure it will be directly driven by the diversity of our membership.”
Some factions within the Teamsters, such as the Teamsters National Black Caucus, broke with O’Brien earlier this year and endorsed Harris.
The endorsement could sway key states in the Nov. 5 election where union membership is strong, including Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
O’Brien made waves at this year’s Republican National Convention after delivering one of the most anti-big business speeches in recent RNC history and becoming the first head of the 121-year-old organization to address the convention. He was not invited to address the Democratic National Committee.
“Today, the Teamsters are here to say that we are not beholden to anyone or to any party,” O’Brien said in his July speech. “We are going to create a program and work with a bipartisan coalition that is ready to get something done for American workers. And I don’t care if I’m criticized.”
