UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced Wednesday that it will not endorse either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Trump in the 2024 White House race.
The powerful labor union decided to remain neutral in the presidential election for the first time in more than a quarter century, despite releasing internal polls showing a majority of its members support Trump.
And the populist former president and his campaign quickly drew attention to the strong support he received from trade unionists.
“It's a great honor. They're not supporting the Democrats. That's a big thing,” Trump told reporters shortly after the Teamsters' announcement during a stop in New York City ahead of a rally near Long Island.
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Republican presidential nominee and former president Donald Trump speaks during a town hall event at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancia)
In a statement titled “Union Members Support President Donald Trump,” the campaign highlighted that both online and telephone surveys of Teamsters showed the former president leading the vice president by more than 25 points.
Caroline Leavitt, national spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, said in a statement, “The hard-working members of the Teamsters have been vocal about wanting to see President Trump return to the White House. These hard-working men and women are the backbone of America, and President Trump will vigorously defend them when he returns to the White House.”
The powerful labor union has more than 1 million members nationwide, deep ties to working-class voters in key Midwestern swing states and other battleground states across the country, and has supported the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since 1980.
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And the Teamsters became the only one of the nation's top 10 labor unions not to endorse Harris in the 2024 presidential runoff election.
When asked if the Teamsters' actions would influence the election, Trump replied, “I think they will. Yes. The Teamsters have a lot of influence.”
Support for Trump among the Teamsters has soared since Harris replaced President Biden as the top 2024 Democratic candidate two months ago, according to Teamsters data. A union poll before Biden's withdrawal showed the president favored Trump among its members, 44.3% to 36.3%.
Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Leadership Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building on September 18, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Biden made history as the first president to walk a picket line with striking workers.
“The union's extensive membership polling did not show majority support for Vice President Harris, nor did it show across-the-board membership support for President Trump,” the union said in a statement Wednesday explaining why it was declining to endorse the 2024 presidential candidate.
“Neither major candidate could make a serious commitment to our union to always put workers' interests above those of big corporations,” Teamsters President Sean O'Brien said.
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“We asked both Trump and Harris for commitments to not interfere in important union causes and the Teamsters' core industries, and to respect our members' right to strike, but we did not receive those commitments.”
O'Brien spoke to reporters Monday after a meeting with Harris of the union's executive committee, which met with Trump earlier this year and separately with Biden. O'Brien said the vote of rank-and-file members is an important factor, but not the only factor in whether and, if so, who they support.
Sean O'Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, speaks on the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee. (Andrew Caballero Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
O'Brien noted that any approval “would be the result of a vote of the general membership and then discussion and deliberation by the board.”
He also renewed his criticism of Trump's recent comments in an interview with billionaire businessman Elon Musk, in which he praised Musk for retaliating against striking workers by illegally firing them.
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Asked whether Trump's comments would affect the Teamsters' support, O'Brien said, “It will affect our decision.”
In a statement to Fox News after the union chose to remain neutral, Harris' campaign pointed to support from “many Teamsters local chapters and rank-and-file members.”
“While Donald Trump says striking workers should be fired, Vice President Harris has literally been on the picket line and has stood strong with labor unions throughout her career,” said Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for Harris' campaign.
“The Vice President's strong union record is why Teamsters chapters across the country have already endorsed her, along with the overwhelming majority of union members. As the Vice President told Teamsters on Monday, if elected president, she will look out for the rank and file Teamsters members no matter what, because they are, and always will be, the people she fights for.”
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