Key US trade union declines to endorse either Harris or Trump

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters declined to issue a presidential endorsement on Wednesday, according to a statement from the union.

The powerful labor union is deeply connected to working class voters in the Midwest and other battleground states that could be crucial to the outcome of November’s election. It cited a lack of consensus among its million-plus members, and the non-endorsement is a sizable blow for Vice President Kamala Harris given the Biden administration’s unabashed union loyalty during his term.

“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,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “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.”

No endorsement won out in a 14-3 vote, vice president at-large John Palmer told POLITICO after the union’s board meeting.

“It was cowardice,” Palmer, who is planning to run on a slate against General President Sean O’Brien in 2026 said and was one of the three votes for Harris. He blamed internal politics for lack of support for the vice president.

But fellow vice president at-large Gregory Floyd said this vote was unsurprising for the Teamsters and it might not ultimately matter in the presidential election.

Floyd said that Harris said during her meeting that “I’m going to win without the Teamsters endorsement but I would love to have it,” and left to a standing ovation in her roundtable interview Monday.

Floyd, who runs the largest Teamsters local in New York City, voted no endorsement because of the membership poll. But his local, 237, will be endorsing Harris, he said.

“The Teamsters are more conservative than other unions … we’re to the left of the building trades and to the right of everyone else,” Floyd told POLITICO. “The Teamsters are not a reflection of the rest of the country and what’s going on.”

The move comes days after Harris met with Teamsters leaders and members at the union’s D.C. headquarters and amid speculation about strong support for former President Donald Trump among organized labor’s rank-and-file. A Harris campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the decision.

Earlier in the day, the union released internal survey results that showed close to 60 percent of its members backed Trump. It did not disclose how many members participated in the polling.

The lack of an endorsement comes despite comments former President Donald Trump made last month approvingly speaking of employers who fire workers who go on strike, which drew sharp criticism from O’Brien. It will also step on Harris’ claim to be the inheritor of Biden’s strongly pro-union legacy.

However, Harris has been endorsed by virtually every other major union, and the backlash among O’Brien’s fellow union leaders and Democrats will surely be intense.

An earlier straw poll showed Biden ahead of Trump among Teamsters, 46 percent to 37 percent with then-candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 5 percent. Harris’ vastly worse performance among its membership also raises questions about whether other blue-collar unions may harbor similar reservations about her within their ranks.

The numbers are something Trump allies said they have sensed and felt validated. “Trump is doing well among the members of the Teamsters or any other building and construction trades union, or law enforcement or first responders,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), whose battleground district will be crucial to control of the House. “Doesn’t surprise me at all.”

The Harris campaign is expected to point to other Teamster-aligned groups that have backed her candidacy — such as the Teamsters National Black Caucus and some local units — and her numerous other national labor endorsements.

Harris’ allies argue that local Teamsters unions in key swing states that have endorsed the vice president will do the work of persuading members who are on the fence and energizing others to go to the polls.

“I just had my local come in and they said, if this was a decision by all the locals, most of the locals are already backing Harris.” said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.).

O’Brien is likely to face dissent within his own ranks over his union’s non-endorsement. Some Teamsters officials and members have gone public with their concerns that he has handled the presidential race poorly, effectively boosting an anti-union candidate.

The Teamsters have flirted with non-endorsements in the past, particularly in 2000 due to organized labor’s disdain for the North American Free Trade Agreement, though they have ultimately sided with the Democratic nominee.

Some critics of O’Brien have argued privately that he has treated the saved pensions less as an accomplishment for the Teamsters writ large and more of a success for his predecessor, James Hoffa.

“It was more of a very subtle thank you,” Palmer said of O’Brien and the pension funding. “We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of pensions across the country — not just the Teamsters — so I felt like there should have been a better sense of gratitude. When you talk to Teamsters across the country, they get it.”