Teamsters will not support Trump in presidential race after internal poll shows most members back Trump
CNN
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The International Brotherhood of Teamsters declined to endorse a presidential candidate Wednesday after releasing an internal poll showing a majority of its members backed former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris.
It is the first time in nearly three decades that the union has not supported a presidential candidate.
“Unfortunately, neither major candidate has been able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure that the interests of working people always come before those of big business,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “We sought commitments from both Trump and Harris to not interfere in critical union campaigns or key Teamster industries – and to respect our members’ right to strike – but we were unable to secure those commitments.”
Before the decision, the Teamsters shared internal data showing that a majority of members supported Trump over Harris. According to an electronic survey of members launched after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, about 60% of members thought the union should support Trump while 34% supported Harris. About 6% said they supported another candidate.
Trump’s campaign highlighted the support of rank-and-file Teamsters members after the union announced it would not support him.
“While the Teamsters Executive Committee is not making any formal endorsement, the vast majority of rank-and-file workers in this important organization want President Donald Trump back in the White House,” the Trump campaign said in a press release, citing internal polling data.
Harris met with Teamsters leaders on Monday. O’Brien had a prime-time slot at this summer’s Republican National Convention but was not at the Democratic convention next month.
The Teamsters, which represents truck drivers, freight workers and other workers, is the latest major union to announce its support for the president. The country’s other major labor organizations, including the American Federation of Teachers and the United Auto Workers, have endorsed Harris.
The last time the Teamsters skipped a presidential election was in 1996. They have supported Democratic candidates in the next six elections, including Trump’s opponents Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020. The union last backed a Republican presidential candidate in 1988, with the support of George H.W. Bush.
CNN previously reported that rank-and-file union members have broad support for Trump, even as top union leaders back Harris.
Before Biden dropped out of the race, Teamsters officials had suggested to various stakeholders that the union could remain politically neutral this cycle for the first time in decades.
“At the end of the day, Teamsters don’t care if you have a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ or an ‘I’ next to your name. We want to know one thing,” O’Brien said at the RNC. “What are you doing to help American workers?”
Support from the Teamsters, which has members in a variety of industries and is heavily represented in key states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — all of which voted for Trump in 2016 before backing Biden four years later — would have been a crucial asset for either candidate.
Internal Teamsters data also revealed that a poll conducted before Biden dropped out of the race gave him 44% of members’ support, compared to 36% for Trump. That poll also included Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who garnered about 6% of members’ support. Kennedy has since suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.
Teamsters’ endorsements of Clinton and Biden in the last two presidential cycles came from their predecessors. While union members are traditionally considered a Democratic voting bloc, Trump is struggling to make inroads among rank-and-file members.
Biden has long enjoyed strong support from unions. He became the first sitting president to visit a picket line last September and has frequently used a version of the phrase “The middle class built America and unions built the middle class” in many of his campaign speeches during his campaign. Harris has also begun using the phrase.
But Harris doesn’t have the same long history with unions and workers that the president does.
His running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is himself a former union member as a public school teacher.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.
