Kamala Harris Makes Surprise Visit To Teamsters? DC HQ; Union Hasn?t Endorsed A Candidate Yet
Posted on 09/16/2024
Kamala Harris sat down today in Washington D.C. with the Teamsters? leadership and members for what could be the precursor to an endorsement for the Vice President from the powerful union.
The meeting was behind closed doors, with the VP exiting the 1.3 million-member strong union?s 25 Louisiana Avenue building by a side entrance at 1:57 pm/ET.
While there has been talk for over a week that the Democratic presidential candidate would meet with Teamsters chief Sean O?Brian and the union?s board, nothing was on Harris? schedule for today. ?The Vice President will be in Washington, DC where she will receive briefings and conduct internal meetings with staff. These meetings will be closed press,? last night?s White House guidance for Harris obliquely said. ?Then, at 1:30 PM ET the Vice President will participate in a campaign meeting. This meeting in Washington, DC will be closed press.?
Today, the Harris team put out a statement confirming Harris? participation in an International Brotherhood of Teamsters? candidate roundtable ? just like the Teamsters said on September 5:
O?Brien and the Teamsters board have previously met with Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, when the latter was still top of the Democratic ticket.
The Teamsters have yet to endorse a presidential candidate, despite some backlash from members after President Sean O?Brien made an appearance at the Republican National Convention in July. Despite past endorsement of GOP candidates by the Teamsters, O?Brien was the first Teamster leader ever to speak at a Republican National Convention. In his speech this summer O?Brien warned that the union is ?not beholden to anyone or any party,? adding that he didn?t care about any criticism the move might draw.
O?Brien did not appear at the DNC last month, and the Teamsters have left their official endorsement up to the members. So far, the union has not announced the results of the supposed rank-and-file vote, though it has historically thrown its weight behind the Democrats. With that said, now Harris has sat down with the board and O?Brien and with the election less than 60 days away, an endorsement could come as early as this week, a well placed source tells us.
The union has not endorsed a Republican since 1988 when the Teamsters put their muscle behind George H.W. Bush. The Teamsters had previously backed Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984, with Richard Nixon receiving the endorsement in 1972 and in 1960.
With the strong support Biden and Harris have given to unions since taking office in 2021, a number of Teamsters members were angered by the union?s donation to the GOP?s convention fund in January. However, playing both sides of the aisle, the Teamsters also donated to the Democratic National Committee, indicating less that the union is shifting alliances and more likely that it is hedging its bets in an unpredictable election year.
Still, as internal polling has displayed, a significant number of Teamster members said earlier this year they will be voting for Trump. That was before the blue collar friendly Biden stepped aside for his VP, before O?Brien?s badly received RNC speech, and before the union boss accused Trump of ?economic terrorism? for agreeing with Elon Musk on possibly pink slipping union members who went on strike.
Closer to home, worries of another Hot Labor Summer in Tinseltown proved unfounded for the still fragile industry. Led in no small part by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 399, the Hollywood Basic Crafts sealed their latest deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on August 1 with the overwhelming ratification of their new three-year contracts with the studios.
While the Teamsters? national board has yet to offer an endorsement to any candidate, the volunteer-run Teamsters National Black Caucus, United Auto Workers, and the 13-million member AFL-CIO have all publicly backed Biden and transferred that support to Harris when she became the Dems? standard bearer in late July.
The meeting was behind closed doors, with the VP exiting the 1.3 million-member strong union?s 25 Louisiana Avenue building by a side entrance at 1:57 pm/ET.
While there has been talk for over a week that the Democratic presidential candidate would meet with Teamsters chief Sean O?Brian and the union?s board, nothing was on Harris? schedule for today. ?The Vice President will be in Washington, DC where she will receive briefings and conduct internal meetings with staff. These meetings will be closed press,? last night?s White House guidance for Harris obliquely said. ?Then, at 1:30 PM ET the Vice President will participate in a campaign meeting. This meeting in Washington, DC will be closed press.?
Today, the Harris team put out a statement confirming Harris? participation in an International Brotherhood of Teamsters? candidate roundtable ? just like the Teamsters said on September 5:
O?Brien and the Teamsters board have previously met with Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, when the latter was still top of the Democratic ticket.
The Teamsters have yet to endorse a presidential candidate, despite some backlash from members after President Sean O?Brien made an appearance at the Republican National Convention in July. Despite past endorsement of GOP candidates by the Teamsters, O?Brien was the first Teamster leader ever to speak at a Republican National Convention. In his speech this summer O?Brien warned that the union is ?not beholden to anyone or any party,? adding that he didn?t care about any criticism the move might draw.
O?Brien did not appear at the DNC last month, and the Teamsters have left their official endorsement up to the members. So far, the union has not announced the results of the supposed rank-and-file vote, though it has historically thrown its weight behind the Democrats. With that said, now Harris has sat down with the board and O?Brien and with the election less than 60 days away, an endorsement could come as early as this week, a well placed source tells us.
The union has not endorsed a Republican since 1988 when the Teamsters put their muscle behind George H.W. Bush. The Teamsters had previously backed Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984, with Richard Nixon receiving the endorsement in 1972 and in 1960.
With the strong support Biden and Harris have given to unions since taking office in 2021, a number of Teamsters members were angered by the union?s donation to the GOP?s convention fund in January. However, playing both sides of the aisle, the Teamsters also donated to the Democratic National Committee, indicating less that the union is shifting alliances and more likely that it is hedging its bets in an unpredictable election year.
Still, as internal polling has displayed, a significant number of Teamster members said earlier this year they will be voting for Trump. That was before the blue collar friendly Biden stepped aside for his VP, before O?Brien?s badly received RNC speech, and before the union boss accused Trump of ?economic terrorism? for agreeing with Elon Musk on possibly pink slipping union members who went on strike.
Closer to home, worries of another Hot Labor Summer in Tinseltown proved unfounded for the still fragile industry. Led in no small part by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 399, the Hollywood Basic Crafts sealed their latest deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on August 1 with the overwhelming ratification of their new three-year contracts with the studios.
While the Teamsters? national board has yet to offer an endorsement to any candidate, the volunteer-run Teamsters National Black Caucus, United Auto Workers, and the 13-million member AFL-CIO have all publicly backed Biden and transferred that support to Harris when she became the Dems? standard bearer in late July.
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