The International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Wednesday announced it will not formally endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, ending months of speculation about whether the labor union would back Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Kamala Harris.

The union’s general executive board said in a statement that its member polling showed no majority support for Harris, and no universal support for Trump.

“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,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in the statement.

“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,” said O’Brien.

With 1.3 million members, the Teamsters union is one of the largest labor groups in the country. The non-endorsement is a break from the union’s decadeslong tradition of backing Democratic candidates. But it’s not a complete surprise.

  • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Is there any chance that a second Trump administration wouldn’t be markedly worse for organized labor? This is a textbook example of not voting for your own interests.

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 month ago

      Their interest is getting Harris to make concessions or withold their vote. Giving it away like a sucker is what enables administrations to crack down on Unions without consequences.

      • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        That very well may be part of it, but I was commenting on what I believe to be the very real situation of a plurality of union members supporting Trump.

      • njm1314@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        How does busting unions and suppressing the working class favor the bourgeoisie? Is that a real question?

          • njm1314@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            Just in case you’re asking legitimately and aren’t the sea lion you appear you are I’ll answer. They are endorsing Trump. They’re effectively endorsing Trump. When one candidate says they think all striking workers should be fired and their entire ethos is the destruction of unions then not fighting against that candidate is implicit and tacit support. That’s why the head of their Union appeared at the RNC. That’s the message they’re sending you and voters. You need to learn when it comes to politics to look a little more critically at things and not accept the very face value.

            They are class traitors through and through. Just like they were when they endorsed Reagan.