The Teamsters' decision this week not to endorse any presidential candidate expressed disappointment with both candidates' approach to the major union agenda and with the growing power of workers more broadly amid a rise in strikes and growing favoritism toward labor unions in the United States.
The Teamsters are one of the nation's largest and oldest labor unions, and made headlines last summer when they narrowly avoided a strike that could have devastated the shipping industry during crucial labor negotiations with UPS.
The union has a strong presence in Washington, with its offices overlooking Capitol Hill, and has spent millions of dollars on lobbying and political donations since last year.
The company has supported some Republican presidential candidates, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, but has consistently supported Democrats in recent presidential elections, including President Biden in 2020.
Teamsters Chairman Sean O'Brien has deepened his ties to the Republican Party since taking over as Teamsters president in 2022, specifically praising Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) for his speech at the Republican National Convention in July, the first time in the union's 121-year history that a Teamsters president has spoken at a convention.
“The Teamsters have always been an outlier among labor unions since the 1960s and have not been as closely aligned with the Democratic Party as other labor unions, so it's not that surprising that they didn't endorse this year,” said James Riddlesperger, a political science professor at Texas Christian University.
But the president's unexpected suspension of his endorsement this week sparked a backlash among labor unions and other trade union leaders, who denounced it as a mistake made at a critical time for the country's labor movement.
O'Brien's predecessor, longtime Teamsters Chairman Jim Hoffa, criticized the decision, calling it “a serious error and, frankly, a failure of leadership by Sean O'Brien.”
“This election is too important for unions to not fulfill their duty. We must stand up for working Americans, and there is only one candidate in this race who has supported working families and unions throughout her career: Vice President Kamala Harris,” Hoffa said in a statement Friday.
The Teamsters fired back at Hoffa in a statement to The Hill, saying the union would “not focus on the shortcomings and shortsighted views of one weak predecessor” and vowing to “put our members first and make our union stronger and more impactful.”
“As he has done throughout his career as an armchair strategist posing as Teamsters president, Jim Hoffa does not listen to the voice of our members. The Teamsters union has lost hundreds of thousands of members under Hoffa's failed leadership. As we successfully restore membership density under Sean O'Brien, we will continue to support and respect all of our members – Democrats, Republicans and Independents. We need to build true bipartisan support for our workers,” the Teamsters said.
Other major unions and groups, including the United Auto Workers, the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, quickly endorsed Harris when she launched her campaign in July after Biden withdrew. Leaders of those three unions spoke at the Democratic National Convention, but the party did not invite O'Brien to speak at its convention this summer.
Some Teamsters chapters opposed the national decision and supported Harris.
But it remains to be seen how important local support, or the lack of it from larger unions, will be in the election.
“[J]”Just as other prominent advocates — RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Liz and Dick Cheney and Taylor Swift — have failed to make a difference in the polls, the Teamsters' actions are unlikely to make a big difference either,” Riddlesperger said.
Labor unions have been at the forefront of the 2024 election, riding the momentum of notable actions in recent years, from the threat of a rail strike in the fall of 2022 to a “summer of strikes” in 2023 that also involved Hollywood screenwriters and actors, to the six-week strike by the United Auto Workers against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis last fall.
Last year, American workers staged 33 strikes, the most in a single year.From 2000, age 39That's up from just five in 2009, according to the Labor Department, and the lowest annual number of strikes on record, but still a long way from the record 470 in 1952.
Support for labor unions has also soared from an all-time low in 2009, even as union membership has fallen and big corporations have targeted the federal agency charged with enforcing labor laws.
Labor union approval rateRapid increaseAccording to Gallup, a major polling organization, approval rating has risen from 48 percent in 2009 to 70 percent this year, the highest level since the late 1960s.
What is the union membership rate in 2023?10 percentAccording to the Ministry of Labor, the number of workers is about 14.4 million.12.4 percentIn 2008, 16.1 million workers20.1 percentIn 1983, the number of workers reached 17.7 million.
About 1.3 million of those union members belong to the Teamsters, an organization that wields great political influence.
The unionApproximately $2.4 millionLast year, it invested in lobbying the federal government and has already$1.2 millionIndividuals and PACs who belong to unions in the first half of 2024$1.4 millionAccording to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks political finance, huge amounts of money have flowed into federal candidates and committees during this election cycle.
Top policy priorities for labor unions include opposing a national right to work and supporting the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would make it easier for workers to form unions and negotiate with employers, potentially paving the way for greater union power.
Wednesday's surprise announcement came after an extensive endorsement process that included a membership vote and roundtable discussions between Harris and Trump.
It's the first time the union has not endorsed a presidential candidate since 1996, when incumbent President Bill Clinton faced off against Kansas Senator Bob Dole over his decision to oppose the North American Free Trade Agreement.He told Fox BusinessWednesday. It marks only the third time since 1960 that the union has declined to endorse it.
About 60% of Teamsters members supported Trump over Harris, but the union “was unable to get any commitments from the former president on our issues,” O'Brien told The Hill.
While Harris has voiced support for the PRO Act, one of the union’s top priorities, O’Brien said the vice president cannot offer a plan for getting it passed.
“We're probably one of the strongest unions out there,” O'Brien said. “We want direct dialogue. We want answers. You know, not false hopes and dreams disguised in rhetoric.”
While the larger Teamsters union declined to endorse a candidate in the election, the Teamsters National Black Legislative Caucus and local organizations, which collectively represent more than 1 million Teamsters members, have endorsed Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Some of these locals are located in battleground states like Michigan and Nevada, two states the Harris-Waltz campaign is hoping to win in November's presidential election.
“Of course, the only caveat with this election is that it's very close and the outcome will be decided by the votes of electoral college voters in seven closely-held states, so even just a few votes can have a big impact,” Riddlesperger said.
