How the 2024 election set the Teamsters on a collision course with their own union

The traditionally Democrat-leaning group broke decades of precedent with overtures to the GOP, capping with a refusal to endorse any candidate for the White House. It is a decision that is not sitting well with many rank and file members

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters headquarters
By not endorsing a presidential candidate this election, the powerful labor union may have created an even bigger problem for itself
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

For three decades, The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has been a reliable partner among the various stakeholders that make up the Democratic party's coalition of allies. The Teamsters Union, as it is more commonly known, has endorsed the Democratic nominee for president every election year since 1996, encouraging its 1.3 million members to vote for the major political party understood as being the more labor-friendly of the two.

That streak ended this month when the union announced it would not be endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris or Donald Trump for president. In a press release the group explained that they had been "left with few commitments on top Teamsters issues" from the candidates and found "no definitive support among members for either party's nominee."

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.