WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The International Brotherhood of Teamsters will not issue an endorsement in the presidential election for the first time since 1996 and for only the third time since 1960.
Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said, “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.
“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,” O’Brien said.
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The Teamsters endorsed President Biden during the 2020 election and has consistently supported Democratic presidential nominees in recent election cycles.
Harris campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt noted in an emailed statement that more than three dozen retired Teamsters spoke last month in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention, having endorsed Harris. Their pensions were saved through the 2021 passage of the Butch Lewis Act that President Joe Biden and Harris championed.
“While Donald Trump says striking workers should be fired, Vice President Harris has literally walked the picket line and stood strong with organized labor for her entire career,” Hitt said. “The Vice President’s strong union record is why Teamsters locals across the country have already endorsed her — alongside the overwhelming majority of organized labor.”
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The Teamsters said Wednesday that internal polling of members showed Trump with an advantage over Harris, a fact that the Republican’s campaign immediately seized upon by sending out an email that said the “rank-and-file of the Teamsters Union supports Donald Trump for President.”
Trump called the Teamsters’ decision not to endorse “a great honor.”
“It’s a great honor,” he said. “They’re not going to endorse the Democrats. That’s a big thing.”
NewsNation affiliate The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.