Vice President Harris appeared at a roundtable discussion with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Monday as anticipation builds to see who the union will support in the presidential election.
Teamsters President Sean O'Brien told reporters after meeting with the lieutenant president that he discussed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, spoke about “how important it is to deny people the right to work” and emphasized the diversity of opinion among the union's members.
“We represent everyone from airline pilots to zoo keepers, we don't just represent Democrats,” O'Brien told reporters.
Asked whether the union was ready to make a statement, O'Brien said “we have credible research and information to make a decision,” but declined to say when that would happen.
With 1.3 million members, the Teamsters is one of the largest and oldest labor unions in the U.S. In the run-up to the 2024 election, the union also hosted roundtable discussions with former President Trump, President Biden, third-party candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West.
The endorsement process has been closely watched as the two parties compete for the support of labor union leaders and members who have consistently backed Democratic presidential candidates for decades.
Other unions and labor groups, including the United Auto Workers, the AFL-CIO and the Teamsters National Black Congressional Caucus, have endorsed Harris since she launched her campaign in mid-July, but the Teamsters have not yet endorsed her for president.
While the Teamsters supported Biden in the 2020 election and have historically supported Democratic candidates, O'Brien disagrees with the idea that the union should automatically support Democrats.
In July, O'Brien became the first Teamsters leader in the union's 121-year history to speak at the Republican National Convention, declaring, “The Teamsters are here to declare that we are not beholden to anybody or any political party.”
O'Brien called Trump a “tough motherfucker” after the assassination attempt in July, but clashed with the former president just weeks later.
During an interview with Elon Musk on social platform X last month, O'Brien criticized Trump for suggesting that striking workers be fired, calling the proposal “a scam.”Economic terrorism.”
Asked how he responded to Trump's comments, O'Brien said: “My answer remains the same.”
“Just because I met with Mr. Trump or did an interview with him doesn't absolve me of my morals or the morals of the Teamsters. It's all about workers,” O'Brien said.
Meanwhile, Harris has campaigned in support of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, one of the union's most important policies, which would strengthen workers' ability to form unions and negotiate with employers.
“You know, ultimately we're going to call balls and strikes,” O'Brien said. While he noted the “strong reaction” to Trump's comments, he also said the Biden administration had some requests that have yet to be met.
O'Brien also said “Joe Biden is great for unions” and that he didn't see “a lot of difference” between his meeting with Harris and his meeting with Biden earlier this year.
Updated 2:42 p.m.
