(UnitedHeadlines.com) – The 1.3 million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters union is considering not endorsing a presidential candidate in the 2024 election, a major blow for President Joe Biden.
Earlier this year, the Teamsters held roundtables with Biden and Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump and hosted more than 300 local events with workers to find out their opinions of the two candidates. However, deteriorating relations with the union leaders and increasing concern about Biden’s cognitive abilities and chances of winning have caused many union leaders to question whether the union should endorse him.
Though the union, representing workers in many different fields, including office work, manufacturing, and trucking, endorsed Biden in 2020, they are questioning endorsing him again. The deep internal divisions mean that, for the first time since 1996, the union would not endorse any candidate as an endorsement for Trump seems unlikely as the union has typically endorsed Democrats. In 2016, the Teamsters, founded in 1903, endorsed Hillary Clinton, and, in 2008 and 2012, endorsed former President Barack Obama.
The reports of the internal division come as United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and that union’s executive board met in early July to discuss concerns about Biden’s chances of winning in November.
Earlier this year, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien had sought a meeting with Biden that was denied over rescuing trucking giant Yellow Corp and its 30,000 union jobs from bankruptcy. On July 15, O’Brien also spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, he is not yet scheduled to speak at the August Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, since their programming decisions have been finalized, according to convention spokesperson Matt Hill.
Despite the reports of not endorsing a candidate, Teamsters spokesperson Kara Deniz said, “No final decision has been made.” According to O’Brien, the union would conduct polling and, after both parties’ conventions, make a decision on an endorsement.
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