For the first time in thirty years, the Teamsters Union will not endorse the Democratic presidential candidate. The Teamsters Union comprises 1.3 million blue and white color workers in both public and private sectors. In contrast, the largest teacher’s union, the National Education Association (NEA), claims to have 2.3 million members—however, the present number of members has decreased by 1.2% from last year.
The Teamsters conducted an internal poll with its constituents from June to September to ascertain their support for each presidential candidate. The results raised more than one eyebrow, with 56.6% favoring Trump over 34% for Harris. The lopsided results forced the leadership to endorse neither candidate. The Teamsters’ no-confidence vote for Harris is a huge win for the Republican candidate.
Although two-thirds of the Teamsters preferred Trump, the official position of endorsing neither candidate is no surprise. During the Republican National Convention, the Teamster president was invited to address the audience in Milwaukee. Sean O’Brien predicted the organization’s response long before the voting ended on September 15. During his speech before the delegates, he said, “The Teamsters are not beholding to anyone or any party.” Unsurprisingly, O’Brien and the leadership continue to hold the position of not beholding to any party even though they had done it for 30 years, always siding with the Democrats.
O’Brien’s remarks included a bit of trivia that most are unaware of. He said he was the first Union President to speak at a Republican Convention. By inviting him to speak, pundits claimed that what is being seen is a shift of emphasis for the worker from the Democrats to the Republicans. They claim the Republicans are now the party of the worker. Although that is true, it is not the heart of what the announcement today is all about.
The lack of endorsement of a Democrat for president is a seismic shift in the ethos of unions spearheaded by the Teamsters. In years past, membership in a union meant a singular voting bloc pushed by its leaders, always falling on the side of the Democratic ticket. The two-thirds vote for Trump is a crack forming whereby just being a union member does not always equate to a vote for the Democratic candidate.
The Democrats believe they are entitled to the votes of union members. The same holds with minority voters, who, like the Teamsters, are not giving them the automatic vote they count on. It seems that union members are now willing to vote for their own best interests and those of their families. They, like everyone else, are burdened by the steady rise of inflation, the lawlessness in the streets, the loss of jobs through illegal immigration, and the destruction of the family by gender-affirming nonsense and the constant mantra of racism.
Although no one seriously thinks that the liberal NEA will change its stripes and forgo their endorsement for Harris, it does mean that the stranglehold on all unions voting consistently for the Democratic platform is now in question.
The Teamsters are the only union that has challenged the status quo up to now. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the return of unions that focus on their members and less on cultural change and political ideologies.