Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, speaks to UPS Teamsters during a picket ahead of an upcoming possible strike, outside of a UPS Distribution Center in Brooklyn, New York, July 14, 2023.
- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced it would not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, ending months of speculation about whether the labor union would back Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Kamala Harris.
- The non-endorsement is a break from the union's decadeslong tradition of backing Democratic candidates.
- Teamsters President Sean O'Brien had signaled in July that the union was open to endorsing Trump when he delivered a speech on the first night of the Republican National Convention.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Wednesday announced it will not formally endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, ending months of speculation about whether the labor union would back Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Kamala Harris.
The union's general executive board said in a statement that its member polling showed no majority support for Harris, and no universal support for Trump.
"The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables. 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 the 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," said O'Brien.
With 1.3 million members, the Teamsters union is one of the largest labor groups in the country. The non-endorsement is a break from the union's decadeslong tradition of backing Democratic candidates. But it's not a complete surprise.
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O'Brien had signaled in July that the union was open to endorsing Trump when he delivered a speech on the first night of the Republican National Convention.
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"As the strongest and most democratic labor union in America, it was vital for our members to drive this endorsement process. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents proudly call our union home, and we have a duty to represent and respect every one of them," O'Brien wrote.
"We strongly encourage all our members to vote in the upcoming election, and to remain engaged in the political process. But this year, no candidate for President has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters' International Union," he wrote.
In a national survey of Teamsters members conducted after the Sept. 10 presidential debate, union members overwhelmingly backed Trump over Harris, 58% to 31%, according to results published by the union ahead of its formal endorsement.
The most recent results are very different from those of surveys conducted when President Joe Biden was still the Democratic nominee. Before Biden dropped out of the race July 21, the union's rank-and-file members backed Biden over Trump, 44.3% to 36.3%.
The union on Wednesday said neither Harris nor Trump would promise not to intervene to force contracts like those allowed under the Railway Labor Act. Such intervention would undermine workers' bargaining leverage, the statement said.
The union praised Harris for pledging to sign the PRO Act, which would strengthen union protections, and criticized Trump, who refused to commit to veto national "right to work" legislation, the union said.
"'Right to work' laws only exist to try to kill labor unions," Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman said in the statement. "It is a red line for the Teamsters."
The announcement came just days after union members and leadership met with Harris, who has received endorsements from several other labor unions.
Union leaders also featured prominently at the Democratic National Convention in August, but the Teamsters — and O'Brien — were conspicuously absent. After O'Brien appeared at the RNC, a spokesperson for the union confirmed to CNBC that O'Brien had not received an invitation to speak at the Democratic convention.
"The Teamsters carry a lot of weight," Trump said at a campaign stop in New York City Wednesday afternoon. "It was always automatic that Democrats get the Teamsters, and they said we won't endorse the Democrats this year. So that was an honor for me."
Harris campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt, in response to the union's decision, said, "The Vice President's strong union record is why Teamsters locals across the country have already endorsed her — alongside the overwhelming majority of organized labor."
If Harris is elected president, "she will look out for the Teamsters rank-and-file no matter what — because they always have been and always will be the people she fights for," said Hitt.
