Teamsters head withholds endorsement after meeting with Kamala Harris
By
Haisten Willis
September 16, 2024 3:20 pm
.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien did not endorse a candidate after meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris at his union’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
“We talked about Teamster issues,” O’Brien said from the lobby, which is in view of the Capitol, in response to a question from the Washington Examiner. “We talked about how important our members are in this process, the 1.3 million members and what their wants and needs are. There’s no secret that the Teamsters union is very different than most unions, and I mean that with total respect.”
O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention in July but was snubbed when he tried to do the same at the Democratic National Convention the next month.
Every major nonpolice union other than the Teamsters has backed the Democratic ticket, but O’Brien is continuing to hold out, saying he’s more interested in what a politician does for his members than what letter appears beside their name.
“We don’t just represent registered Democrats. We represent registered Republicans and independents, and we have to so we have to take that into consideration,” O’Brien said. “[Harris] recognized the diversity of our membership as it relates to political affiliation.”
The union is polling its 1.3 million members about an endorsement and says it will release the results of that survey later this week. He said the results will be released to the public, but it will only be one factor in any endorsement decision.
“The polling is not just going to dictate which direction we go,” O’Brien said, though he added that polling will be “a significant part.”
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/presidential/3155618/teamsters-withholds-endorsement-kamala-harris/
