Teamsters Normal President Sean O’Brien mentioned Monday that the highly effective union might subject a presidential endorsement within the coming days, after internet hosting Vice President Kamala Harris for a closed-door roundtable.
“We’re going to have a look at any and all choices, and I can’t decide to what we’re going to do,” he informed reporters on the union’s D.C. headquarters.
Harris left instantly after the assembly with out speaking to reporters.
O’Brien mentioned the union is wrapping up polling of its membership forward of an government board assembly on Wednesday. He mentioned these outcomes may even be publicly launched.
“There’s no secret that the Teamsters union may be very completely different than most unions, and I imply that with complete respect; we signify all people from airline pilots and zookeepers, O’Brien mentioned. “We don’t simply signify registered Democrats, we signify registered Republicans and independents, and so now we have to take [that] into consideration.”
The union’s million-plus membership is among the largest within the nation and it has lengthy been a bedrock of the Democratic coalition.
Nevertheless it switched up its course of below O’Brien, courting presidential candidates of all stripes — together with former President Donald Trump — and has remained uncommitted as most different unions lined up behind the Democratic ticket.
O’Brien mentioned that open-ended stance — which has garnered notable opposition contained in the union — has been a “full distraction, but it surely’s needed as a result of we want to verify we make the proper choices” given the Teamsters’ numerous membership.
“Our sole focus is representing these employees, negotiating robust contracts and organizing new members,” he mentioned.
O’Brien has drawn criticism for talking at this summer season’s Republican Nationwide Conference — although he mentioned his anti-corporate message polled overwhelmingly nicely with members — and was snubbed when he solicited an analogous function on the Democratic conference a couple of weeks later.
A member of the Teamsters’ board has challenged O’Brien and the volunteer-led Teamsters Nationwide Black Caucus bought out in entrance of management by backing Harris forward of the DNC.
On Monday, O’Brien reiterated that President Joe Biden has been “nice for unions” and lamented Trump’s current feedback with mogul Elon Musk, during which the previous president flippantly mentioned retaliating towards hanging employees by firing them — an unlawful follow.
O’Brien mentioned the Teamsters requested the identical questions of Harris that it did of Biden and different candidates and that the pair gave some comparable responses.
“There wasn’t an entire lot of distinction,” he mentioned.
The Teamsters have targeted on candidates’ assist for the PRO Act, a sweeping set of union-friendly adjustments to federal labor regulation, in addition to chapter reform and antitrust insurance policies in its roundtable conferences.
