The West Coast Teamsters' decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 represents a significant break from the national Teamsters, who declined to make a presidential endorsement. This move reflects the divergent political leanings within the union, especially in liberal states like California, where former President Donald Trump remains unpopular. While nearly 60% of the national membership supports Trump, Teamsters Joint Councils 7 and 42, representing 300,000 members, praised Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, for their strong labor protections. The union emphasized its resistance to division by corporate and extremist forces.
Teamsters President Peter Finn reaffirmed the union’s commitment to standing united, ensuring workers have a voice in their workplaces and can support their families. However, national President Sean O’Brien stated that neither the Harris nor Trump campaigns had made serious commitments to protect union interests, which led to the national body withholding its endorsement. The union, with strong ties to industries critical to battleground states, like automotive and warehousing, had been seeking commitments on labor-friendly policies from both campaigns.
Harris’ recent engagement with the Teamsters reflects an effort to solidify support among this historically Democratic-leaning bloc. Her focus on labor reforms, such as the Protect the Right to Organize Act, aligns with the union's advocacy for better worker protections. Additionally, the union has expressed concerns over California’s policies on autonomous vehicles, fearing job losses. Teamsters leadership, particularly Finn, has criticized Governor Gavin Newsom for favoring big tech interests over workers, drawing parallels between Newsom’s policies and Trump’s, accusing both of prioritizing corporate allies over labor.
This endorsement underscores the complexity of union politics, particularly in regions where Democratic candidates like Harris hold sway, but Trump continues to garner significant support among blue-collar workers. The West Coast Teamsters' alignment with Harris highlights the ongoing struggle within the labor movement to balance its historical alliances with the Democratic Party while addressing the concerns of members who may lean toward Trump due to economic anxieties and shifting political dynamics.
teamsters West Coast Teamsters announced their endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, just minutes after national Teamsters leadership declined to issue a presidential endorsement.
teamsters endorsement The move represents a sharp break within the powerful union’s membership in liberal states like California, where former President Donald Trump remains a widely unpopular political figure. The union’s national headquarters released internal survey results earlier in the day that showed close to 60 percent of its members backed Trump.
teamsters union Teamsters Joint Councils 7 and 42 — which are made up of 39 local unions representing 300,000 members in California, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam — wrote in a statement that Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have a history of supporting expanded labor protections for workers, like the proposed Protect the Right to Organize Act and a Minnesota law that will ban employers from forcing workers to attend anti-labor meetings.
teamsters endorsement 2024 “Teamster members work and live in cities as well as in rural communities, come from diverse backgrounds, and have different views, but Joint Council 7 and 42 Teamsters refuse to be divided by extremist political forces or greedy corporations that want to see us fail,” said Teamsters Joint Council 7 President Peter Finn. “As Teamsters we will stand together to have a strong voice on the job, provide for our families, and serve the communities where we work.”
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Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said the national union declined to endorse after it hadn’t secured pledges from either campaign to not interfere in “in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries.”
Neither candidate “was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business,” he wrote in a statement.
The powerful union has deep roots in the automotive, warehouse and other blue-collar industries critical to battleground states in places like the Midwest. Harris had in recent days met with the Teamsters to shore up support among the historically Democratic-leaning bloc, which had made an appeal to both campaigns to support a union-friendly overhaul of federal labor law, bankruptcy reform and antitrust policies.
The union has opposed California policies on autonomous vehicles over concerns about job losses. Finn recently compared Gov. Gavin Newsom’s support of the industry to Trump’s policies.
“The reality is now Newsom is turning into Trump,” he said. “He’s acting like a dictator that bullies and disrespects the legislature, and he’s consistently siding with his rich friends and big tech instead of looking out for who he was elected to look out for.”
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