A poll of Teamster members released on Wednesday shows nearly 60% support former President Donald Trump, though union leadership in Michigan is backing Vice President Kamala Harris instead.
The General Executive Board for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Wednesday announced it will not endorse a presidential candidate in 2024 after multiple polls found a majority of members plan to vote for Trump.
The decision marked the first time since 1996 the union representing 1.3 million transportation workers failed to endorse a Democrat for president.
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“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,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “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 followed several polls of members released by the union on Wednesday that showed strong support for Trump.
TEAMSTERS RELEASE PRESIDENTIAL ENDORSEMENT POLLING DATA
“For the past year, the Teamsters Union has pledged to conduct the most inclusive, democratic, and transparent Presidential endorsement process in the history of our 121-year-old organization—and today we are delivering on… pic.twitter.com/CnFNN9uosx
— Teamsters (@Teamsters) September 18, 2024
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While President Joe Biden won a presidential town hall straw poll of members conducted April 9-July 3, before his campaign shifted to Harris, the 45th POTUS won two membership polls in the months since.
An electronic member poll conducted by BallotPoint Election Services July 24-Sept. 15 found 59.6% plan to vote for Trump, 34% for Harris, and 6.4% for other candidates. A research phone poll conducted by Lake Research Partners Sept. 9-15 produced similar results: 58% for Trump, 31% for Harris, and 11% undecided or don’t know.
“While the Teamsters Executive Board is making no formal endorsement, the hardworking members of the Teamsters have been loud and clear – they want President Trump back in the White House!” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary. “These hardworking men and women are the backbone of America and President Trump will strongly stand up for them when he’s back in the White House.”
Trump himself discussed the developments at a campaign stop in New York City on Wednesday, CNN reports.
“It’s a great honor. They’re not going to endorse the Democrats. That’s a big thing,” Trump said. “Democrats automatically have the Teamsters. They took a vote, and I guess I was at 60% or more, and that’s a great honor.”
The Teamsters have large numbers of members in key battleground states that could play a major role in swinging the election, and decision not to endorse a candidate “likely means the difference between their members voting 50 percent for Harris versus close to 60 percent,” Steve Rosenthal, a Democratic political strategist who focuses on labor unions, told The Washington Post.
Despite a membership split on the presidential race, the Michigan Teamsters Joint Council No. 43 is forging ahead with an endorsement for the Harris-Walz campaign “on behalf of 245,000 active and retired Teamsters,” the union announced Wednesday.
“We strongly support their continued commitment to the issues that matter most to working families and our nation’s middle class,” the announcement read. “Both Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz have consistently demonstrated their dedication to championing the labor movement, safeguarding social security, and ensuring access to quality healthcare for all Americans, including women’s reproductive rights.”
The Teamsters announcements followed an appearance by O’Brien at the Republican National Convention in July just days after an attempted assassination of Trump, whom O’Brien praised as “one tough SOB.”
“President Trump had the backbone to open the doors to this Republican convention, and that’s unprecedented,” O’Brien said to a roaring applause.
O’Brien requested to speak at the Democratic National Convention, but was rejected despite the union donating $45,000 to the event, the Post reports.
Instead, Democrats hand-picked Teamster members who support Harris to speak.