WASHINGTON – The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has made a shocking decision not to endorse either candidate (Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump) in the 2024 presidential race, despite a tradition of supporting Democratic candidates for nearly three decades.
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With more than 1.4 million members, Teamsters are the fourth-largest labor union in the United States, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. Despite their name, Teamsters has members from a wide range of professions, in both the public and private sectors: truck drivers, transit workers, airline pilots, zookeepers, and public defenders.
Teamsters' national leadership made the decision after their release of an electronic membership poll from July 24 to September 15, 2024, showing that 59.6% of their members supported Trump, while Harris got 34%.
However, given the nature of a decentralized organization, some Teamsters' local leadership quickly decided to endorsed Harris. If the endorsement should reflect the will of their members, it's Trump who should be endorsed instead. There may be some stories behind the curtain which prevented them to do so.
Teamsters' decision goes against most other major unions such as the United Auto Workers (990,000 members) and the United Steelworkers (860,000 members) - all of which endorsed Harris.
