America’s 1.3 million-member Teamsters union is not backing the Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in decades—because most members support Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, announced that his organisation would not endorse any candidate.
“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,” he said.
The move comes after internal polling showed nearly 60% of members backed former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump, while just 34% backed current vice-president and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
The move is a major blow to the Harris campaign. The union has backed the Democratic presidential candidate in every race since 1996 and its members have often proven to be dedicated campaigners, particularly in swing states. Union members also have a higher propensity to turn out and vote. The key swing states of Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania have a high number of unionised workers.
In a campaign stop in New York City on Wednesday, Trump said the move was a “great honour.” “They’re not going to endorse the Democrats. That’s a big thing,” he added.
Democrats automatically have the Teamsters. They took a vote, and I guess I was at 60% or more, and that’s a great honour.
Harris met O’Brien earlier this week to lobby him for the Teamsters’ support but to no avail. He had addressed this summer’s Republican National Convention but did not appear at the Democratic convention the following month.
“At the end of the day, the Teamsters are not interested if you have a ‘D,’ ‘R’ or an ‘I’ next to your name. We want to know one thing,” O’Brien told the RNC. “What are you doing to help American workers?”
The move shows how American politics is shifting, as Republicans increasingly become the party of blue-collar workers while Democrats become the party of the metropolitan elite.
The union traditionally represents truckers and warehouse workers in the Midwest. It grew to be America’s largest under its most famous leader, Jimmy Hoffa.
