Teamsters president faces internal revolt over Harris endorsement snub
By
David Sivak
September 20, 2024 4:01 pm
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Teamsters President Sean O’Brien is navigating an internal revolt over the union’s decision not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, with local chapters rushing to endorse her anyway.
The Teamsters executive board voted to stay neutral in the presidential race on Wednesday, upending decades of precedent. In every election since 1996, the union has endorsed the Democratic candidate for president.
O’Brien said that “neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to the union,” largely made up of truckers and warehouse workers, in explaining its choice. But the announcement did not sit well with some Teamsters leaders.
Around two dozen councils from Wisconsin to Nevada have endorsed Harris in defiance of the national organization. Kevin Moore, the president of the Michigan Teamsters, greeted her on a tarmac Thursday in Detroit after extending his support.
“In Michigan, we understand this is a blue-wall state,” Moore told WXYZ, an ABC affiliate in Detroit. “We’ve seen four years of Donald Trump. It’s the same old rhetoric, and we’re not going back.”
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/presidential/3161590/teamsters-sean-obrien-backlash-harris-endorsement/
