The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the US’s largest and best-known labor unions, has declined to endorse a candidate for president, citing major political divides among its membership, in addition to dissatisfaction with every main candidate’s stances on key union priorities.
In a good presidential race the place the overwhelming majority of labor unions have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the Teamsters’ choice not to take action could possibly be seen as a high-profile rebuke, particularly since Harris is a component of a Democratic administration that has, for the most half, been extremely supportive of labor union rights. Whether the choice actively hurts her, nevertheless, stays to be seen.
The Teamsters signify more than a million workers from many industries, together with UPS drivers and employees in building, healthcare, and sanitation. Their members are situated all through the United States. But Teamsters have a very robust base in the Midwest and in swing states that could possibly be decisive in November.
Ahead of the choice, the Teamsters polled members on their presidential preferences. In a September telephone poll, 58 % of Teamsters members supported Republican candidate Donald Trump, and 31 % mentioned they’d like the union to endorse Harris. In straw polls performed at city halls previous to President Joe Biden’s choice to exit the race in July, 44 % of members supported Biden, versus 36 % for Trump.
While the ballot outcomes recommend a common desire for Trump, a quantity of Teamsters native unions and subgroups have vocally come out in help for Harris. The Teamsters National Black Caucus endorsed Harris in August, not ready for the nationwide group’s choice. In the wake of Wednesday’s announcement, native unions in battlegrounds like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania — among others — additionally endorsed Harris.
Now each camps are claiming to have the Teamsters behind them, Trump because of the poll results, and Harris because of the local endorsements.
Will the Teamsters’ political choice carry weight in November?
The lack of endorsement could not in the end matter a lot on the subject of how Teamsters will vote. The polls and native endorsements thus far have made it clear that almost all Teamsters have a set desire this election cycle, and it’s not clear that an endorsement from the nationwide union would have accomplished a lot to alter that.
Peverill Squire, a political science professor at the University of Missouri, instructed Vox that the place union endorsement actually issues is on the floor, campaigning.
“Union endorsements are valuable because they usually come with access to resources, particularly volunteers to knock on doors and work phone banks,” Squire mentioned. “Leadership may be able to persuade some members to vote the way they would like, but the real value is in campaign assistance.”
Besides the setback of having fewer volunteers, there’s additionally some risk that the non-endorsement may sway non-union voters sympathetic to labor points.
“There’s the broad symbolism” of the lack of endorsement, Vanderbilt University professor of sociology and political economic system Larry Isaac instructed Vox.
Teamsters nationwide president Sean O’Brien mentioned, “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.” That assertion, together with the bigger selection to not concern an endorsement, makes an specific argument that neither candidate would look out for organized labor.
Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, there have been indications that the union may not endorse in any respect, in a break with different main unions — which wasn’t a complete shock on condition that the Teamsters have typically been out of step politically with the relaxation of the US labor union motion, Isaac mentioned. The United Auto Workers, the American Federation of Teachers, the AFL-CIO, and plenty of smaller unions throughout industries and throughout the nation have endorsed Harris.
Still, the Teamsters’ announcement could also be sufficient to affect some voters. Americans help unions at higher levels than they have in decades — and some data suggests voters had been extra more likely to help candidates they perceived as being pro-union in the 2022 elections.
Through her connection to Biden, Harris does have an excellent report on labor; Biden stood at the picket line with UAW employees once they had been hanging final summer time, and has typically supported the proper to strike and sought to undermine company energy. But the administration additionally compelled Teamsters members again to work underneath what union management mentioned was a less-than-ideal contract ahead of a railroad strike in 2022.
But Harris’s personal insurance policies and values distinct from Biden’s aren’t all that well-known, although she has supported the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which might strengthen protections round employees’ proper to prepare and discount collectively. But Teamsters management was reportedly unimpressed with what they heard during a meeting with Harris earlier this week.
Trump, on the different hand, appointed labor antagonists to the National Labor Review Board and permitted laws that restricted employees’ proper to prepare and strengthened workplaces’ potential to interrupt up a union throughout his presidency. Rather than specializing in pro-labor coverage, Trump has spent the 2024 marketing campaign courting the working class along with his populist message. Still, Trump too, apparently didn't impress Teamsters in his roundtable meeting with members.
