The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has announced that it will not endorse any presidential candidate. This decision, made by the General Executive Board on Wednesday, follows the release of internal polling showing that a majority of members preferred Donald Trump for a potential endorsement over Kamala Harris.
“After six months of nationwide member polling and nearly a year of rank-and-file discussions with all major presidential candidates, we found little commitment from either former President Trump or Vice President Harris on key Teamsters issues,” the union stated.
Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien expressed disappointment, noting, “Neither candidate made serious commitments to prioritize the interests of working people over big business.” He highlighted that both Trump and Harris failed to guarantee they wouldn’t interfere in important union campaigns or respect the members’ right to strike. Currently, 10,000 Teamsters at United Airlines are negotiating a new contract, while many railroad Teamsters were compelled to accept a government-mandated contract in 2022 without member support. In discussions, neither Trump nor Harris assured that they wouldn’t intervene in similar situations, which undermines workers' bargaining power.
Although Harris committed to signing the PRO Act, a critical piece of labor legislation aimed at strengthening union protections, Trump did not promise to veto national "right to work" laws, which are detrimental to unions.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million workers across the public and private sectors in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.
