Teamsters Decline to Endorse for President Despite Members’ Overwhelming Support for Trump

DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—The Teamsters union has declined to make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential election just hours after releasing internal polling data showing that workers it represents strongly favor former President Donald Trump.

Among rank-and-file members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 59.6% surveyed said they believe the Teamsters should endorse Trump, compared to 31% voicing support for Vice President Kamala Harris. That more than 25-point gap remained more or less unchanged after the union ordered a subsequent survey following the Sept. 10 presidential debate between Trump and Harris.

Despite the poll results, the Teamsters refused to make an endorsement, saying there was “no majority support” for Harris and a lack of “universal support” for Trump, the union revealed Wednesday.

A Teamsters spokesperson didn’t immediately clarify why the union had different standards for the two candidates. 

“The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said.

“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.”

The Teamsters cited Trump’s refusal to commit to vetoing right-to-work legislation as part of its reasoning for not issuing an endorsement.

The Teamsters, which historically have supported Democrats and often donate to left-of-center causes, made an effort to court Republicans this election cycle. The union made a donation to the Republican National Committee, met with Trump, and O’Brien accepted an invitation to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Some on the Right have resisted the union’s attempt to ingratiate itself among conservatives. The Center for Union Facts put up billboards outside the Republican National Convention calling the Teamsters “two-faced” over its history of liberal spending.

Although Republicans were generally open to the Teamsters, the Democratic National Convention snubbed O’Brien by not allowing him to speak at the Chicago event last month, according to The Associated Press.

Harris is considerably less popular among rank-and-file Teamsters than President Joe Biden, who trailed Trump by only about eight points in a survey ordered by the union prior to Biden’s July 21 withdrawal from the race. Union leadership met with Harris for a roundtable discussion Monday, The Hill reported.

“We represent everybody from airline pilots to zookeepers, and we don’t just represent registered Democrats,” O’Brien told reporters.

The Teamsters’ endorsement would have had a significant impact if it went to either candidate given the concentration of union members in the swing states of Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, according to Reuters.

Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation