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“Teamsters and the UAW have a decades-long relationship of having each other’s back. And that continues with the UAW’s notification that it will go out on strike against General Motors at midnight. Our 1.4 million members stand in solidarity with the UAW and will honor their picket lines,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa this afternoon.
“We laud the UAW for its work to ensure that its GM employees are treated with respect and dignity on the job. At a time when more and more companies are downsizing and shipping jobs out of the U.S., it is imperative that unions fight for their members. Workers should be rewarded for good work with fair wages and benefits. That’s what the UAW is demanding.”
The General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Wednesday [18 September 2024] elected not to endorse any candidate for U.S. President according to a release.
“After reviewing six months of nationwide member polling and wrapping up nearly a year of rank-and-file round table interviews with all major candidates for the presidency, the union was left with few commitments on top Teamsters issues from either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris—and found no definitive support among members for either party’s nominee.”
In data publicly released earlier in the day, President Joe Biden won the support of Teamsters voting in straw polls at local unions between April-July prior to his exit from the race. But in independent electronic and phone polling from July-September, a majority of voting members twice selected Trump for a possible Teamsters endorsement over Harris.
The union’s extensive member polling showed no majority support for Vice President Harris and no universal support among the membership for President Trump.
“The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables. 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. 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,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien.
“Our mission as union representatives is clear: to be honest and upfront, to be inclusive and, above all, to be transparent with our membership. As the strongest and most democratic labor union in America, it was vital for our members to drive this endorsement process. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents proudly call our union home, and we have a duty to represent and respect every one of them. We strongly encourage all our members to vote in the upcoming election, and to remain engaged in the political process. But this year, no candidate for President has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters’ International Union,” the teamsters said.
During the Teamsters Rank-and-file Presidential Roundtables, the union shared feedback from members in the railroad and airline industries who work under the Railway Labor Act (RLA) and are at the mercy of government intervention that often prevents work stoppages. While 10,000 Teamsters at United Airlines are currently negotiating a new agreement, tens of thousands of railroad Teamsters were forced to accept a new contract implemented by Congress without member support in 2022. In roundtable discussions with Trump in January and Harris this month, neither candidate promised not to intervene to force similar RLA contracts, which undermines workers’ bargaining leverage.
While Harris pledged, if elected, to sign the PRO Act, an essential piece of labor legislation strengthening union protections, and criticized dangerous “right to work” laws that are enacted to bankrupt unions, Trump would not commit to veto national “right to work” legislation if he returned to the White House.
“Right to work’ laws only exist to try to kill labor unions,” said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman. “It is a red line for the Teamsters and must be for any union when a candidate for elected office does not oppose such anti-worker legislation. It’s too important an issue for the labor movement as a whole to be left up to state legislatures.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.