The International Brotherhood of Teamsters issued a statement on Wednesday that the powerful labor union will decline to endorse a Presidential candidate.
“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,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “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.”
*** Teamsters President Sean O’Brien spoke at Trump’s Republican National Convention, juxtaposing labor issues in an unfriendly-to-union labor environment.
No endorsement won out in a 14-3 roundtable vote of board members.
“It was cowardice,” said John Palmer, Teamster vice president at-large, who is planning to run against O’Brien in 2026 and was one of the three votes for Harris. He blamed internal politics for lack of support for the vice president.
Fellow vice president at-large Gregory Floyd, who heads the largest Teamsters local in New York City, said the vote won’t mean much.
Floyd shared that during her roundtable interview on Monday, Harris said that “I’m going to win without the Teamsters endorsement but I would love to have it,” and left to a standing ovation.
Despite the lack of national cohesion, Teamster locals in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, California and New York indicated public backing from their members for Harris.
Trump painted the no-endorsement, the Teamsters’ first since 1996, as a bigly win. “It’s a great honor,” Trump told reporters.
Earlier in the day, O’Brien shared the results of an “internal survey” that showed nearly 60% of its members were Trump backers — in an online survey that was sent out to members on the back of a magazine mailer. There were 40,000 participants in the survey.
