Teamsters union meets V-P Harris, could make US presidential pick this week
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Teamsters president Sean O’Brien at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – The 1.3 million-strong Teamsters union could decide who to endorse in the 2024 US presidential election as early as Sept 18, after members met Democratic candidate Kamala Harris on Sept 16, Teamsters president Sean O’Brien said.
Representatives of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters met her Republican rival, Donald Trump, in January.
“We can’t kick this can down the road,” Mr O’Brien told reporters after meeting Ms Harris for nearly an hour.
Most major unions have endorsed Ms Harris, including the United Auto Workers union. The American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations, which represents 60 unions and 12.5 million workers, endorsed Ms Harris in July. The Teamsters is one of the country’s largest unions.
Mr O'Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention in July but also criticised Trump for suggesting that workers who go on strike could be fired.
The union will present results of polling it did of its members to the executive board on Sept 18.
Asked if the union could opt not to make an endorsement, Mr O’Brien said: “We are going to look at any and all options... We need to make sure we make the right decision.”
The Teamsters endorsement could be a factor in a handful of battleground states that will decide the Nov 5 election, including Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania where unions are strong.
Mr O’Brien said the polling is significant but not the only factor the union will consider in making an endorsement.
“There’s no secret that the Teamsters union is very different from most unions,” he said. “We don’t just represent registered Democrats; we represent registered Republicans and independents... We have to take that into consideration.”
If elected, Ms Harris will work with Congress to pass legislation making it easier to organise and “end union busting once and for all”, her campaign said in a statement.
Ms Harris told the Teamsters that “she is committed to continue fighting for union workers like theirs every day”, it added.
Mr O’Brien said union representatives discussed Amazon.com in their meeting with Ms Harris, adding that they had talked about proposed legislation governing the ability of workers to join a union.
The union said earlier on Sept 16 that hundreds of delivery drivers for Amazon across three service partner operators in Queens, New York, are demanding that Amazon recognise their union and negotiate a Teamsters contract.
The Teamsters, founded in 1903, endorsed Mr Biden in 2020, as well as Democrats Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, although the union sometimes picked Republicans in earlier elections. REUTERS
