The International Brotherhood of Commercial Truck Drivers declined to endorse a presidential candidate on Wednesday, even though both parties had sought the support of the nation’s largest union.
The group’s board voted Wednesday to abstain from endorsing, citing division among members and a lack of firm commitments from either major party candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, or former President Donald Trump, on labor issues.
The denial of the endorsement could be seen as a loss for Harris, a Democrat. The union has endorsed a Democrat in every presidential election since 2000, including Trump opponents Joe Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Each campaign sought the support of the 1.3 million-member union, hoping it would aid candidates in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — closely contested industrial states seen as crucial to winning the Electoral College in November.
And union leaders held personal meetings with each candidate, trying to extract policy commitments. But those commitments never came, according to a union statement explaining its decision not to endorse.
“Unfortunately, neither major candidate has been able to make a serious commitment to our union to ensure that the interests of working people will always be put above Big Business,” Teamsters CEO Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement.
“We sought commitments from both Trump and Harris that they would not interfere with key union campaigns or the Teamsters’ core industries — and that they would respect our members’ right to strike — but we were unable to obtain those commitments.”
O’Brien encouraged the union’s politically diverse members to remain energetic during the election period.
“Democrats, Republicans and Independents proudly call our union home, and it is our duty to represent and honor each of them,” O’Brien added. “We strongly encourage all of our members to vote in the upcoming election and to remain engaged in the political process. However, no presidential candidate was endorsed by Teamsters’ International Union this year.”
But on Wednesday night, residents of key swing states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada and Michigan announced they would support Harris, as did other residents who had previously expressed support. “In addition to these residents, the Vice President has received overwhelming support from labor unions because while she has spent her entire career defending unions, Donald Trump has celebrated firing striking workers and his Project 2025 agenda will fundamentally undermine the right to organize,” the campaign said in a statement.
The 32-member Teamsters Joint Council, representing members from Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, also endorsed Harris. Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia and Joint Council of Drivers 40representing residents of western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia, also endorsed Harris.
“Trump and his billionaire allies pose a grave threat to the union movement. In their vision of America, jobs are worse, the economy is more unequal, and unions are a thing of the past.” — Richard Hooker, Chief Officer and Treasurer-Secretary of Local 623 he wrote in his support“Harris and Walz offer a better way forward. Harris and Walz support good-paying blue-collar jobs, better public schools, and increased investment in child care, health care, and neighborhood safety.”
Trump Preferred in Member Poll
An electronic poll released Wednesday by the union showed rank-and-file Teamsters members preferred Republican Party candidate Trump over Harris by a margin of 59.6% to 34%.
In a statement, Trump’s campaign boasted about the poll results.
“While the Teamsters board has not formally endorsed the union, the overwhelming majority of the rank-and-file men and women who work in this important organization want President Donald Trump to return to the White House,” the unsigned statement said.
The electronic poll results were the reverse of a previous poll that showed Labor Party members supporting President Joe Biden at 44.3% to 36.3% for Trump. Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris in July.
The very question of who the Teamsters would support marks a significant swing toward Republicans. Unions, including the Teamsters, have historically supported Democrats.
Trump’s populist views appear to have disrupted this tradition.
O’Brien was a prime-time speaker at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer, although he did not endorse Trump. It was the first time a Teamsters president had spoken at a Republican National Convention in the group’s 121-year history.
Harris’ vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was a member of the teachers union before entering politics.
The Capital-Star team took part in the project.
Update: This article was updated at 8:07 p.m. on September 18, 2024, with additional information regarding local recommendations.
