The International Brotherhood of Teamsters leadership has declined to endorse a U.S. president despite a recently released poll showing that a majority of the union’s members support President Donald Trump, the organization announced on Wednesday.
Teamsters have endorsed a Democratic nominee in every presidential race since 1996.
“Our mission as union representatives is clear: to be honest and upfront, to be inclusive and, above all, to be transparent with our membership. As the strongest and most democratic labor union in America, it was vital for our members to drive this endorsement process,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien, who spoke at this year’s Republican National Convention said.
“Democrats, Republicans, and Independents proudly call our union home, and we have a duty to represent and respect every one of them,” O’Brien continued. “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 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. 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 added.
The union polled members after last week’s presidential debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, and found that 58 percent of members support Trump and only 31 percent support Harris.
Prior to the latest poll, union members supported President Joe Biden by nearly 10 points.
“In data publicly released earlier in the day, President Joe Biden won the support of Teamsters voting in straw polls at local unions between April-July prior to his exit from the race. But in independent electronic and phone polling from July-September, a majority of voting members twice selected Trump for a possible Teamsters endorsement over Harris,” the Teamsters said in a press release. “The union’s extensive member polling showed no majority support for Vice President Harris and no universal support among the membership for President Trump.”
The American Federation of Teachers and the United Auto Workers, two of America’s other major labor unions, have already backed Harris.