Teamsters union decides not to endorse a presidential candidate for 2024

One of the country’s largest labor unions has decided not to endorse a presidential candidate for the 2024 election. The General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said Wednesday its member polling did not show majority support for either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump. “The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement. “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 the union had looked for commitments from the Democratic and Republican candidates to refrain from interfering in union campaigns or key Teamsters industries and to honor their right to strike. He said the union was unable to secure those pledges. Earlier on Wednesday, the union said polling of its 1. 3 million members over the previous six months hadn’t yielded a definitive majority of support for either candidate. In straw polls at local unions conducted from April to July — before President Biden exited the race — Biden won Teamsters support.

But in additional polling conducted electronically and by phone from July to September after Harris became the presumptive nominee, a majority of the union’s members selected Trump for a possible endorsement instead of Harris. The Teamsters represent 1. 3 million workers in the transportation industry. It is the first time since 1996 that the union has decided against endorsing a presidential candidate.