The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced on Wednesday that they will not be endorsing any candidate for president this fall, the first time that they haven’t made a presidential endorsement in nearly 30 years.
The announcement came after the 1.3+ million member union released internal polling data that showed that its members shifted from supporting President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump to overwhelmingly supporting Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden dropped out of the race.
Members backed Biden over Trump by eight points, 44.3% to 36.3%, but when Biden dropped out and Harris became the nominee, their support shifted dramatically to Trump, 59.6% to only 34% for Harris.
The union suggested that Harris only needed to have “majority” support, which Trump got, to receive their endorsement, but Trump would’ve needed “universal” support to receive the endorsement.
“The union’s extensive member polling showed no majority support for Vice President Harris and no universal support among the membership for President Trump,” they said.
Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien claimed that “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.”
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“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,” he claimed. “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.”
The last time that Teamsters endorsed a Republican presidential candidate was in 1988 for then-candidate George H.W. Bush, CBS News noted. They previously endorsed President Richard Nixon in 1972 and President Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
The New York Times said that the Teamsters refusal to endorse either candidate was a significant blow to Harris, who is hoping for a strong showing from union members this fall.
