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Teamsters say most of its members back Trump for president in poll
The Teamsters, one of the country's largest unions, represents truck drivers and a wide range of other workers, including airline pilots and zookeepers.
FILE PHOTO: Teamsters union members march in the annual Labor Day Parade in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., September 2, 2024. / REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo
The Teamsters union on Sept. 18 said polling shows most of its members back Republican former President Donald Trump's bid for a new term in the White House over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
The 1.3 million-member union said its executive board plans to announce later on Wednesday who it is endorsing in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
The union said a national electronic poll of its members from July 24-Sept. 15 showed rank-and-file Teamsters voted 59.6 percent to endorse Trump compared with 34 percent for Harris.
The union said that, following the Sept. 10 presidential debate, independent polling firm Lake Research Partners found in a survey ending Sept. 15 that Teamsters members selected Trump by 58 percent for endorsement over 31 percent for Harris.
"Our final decision around a possible presidential endorsement will not be made lightly, but you can be sure it will be driven directly by our diverse membership," Teamsters President Sean O'Brien said in a statement while releasing six months of polling data.
The Teamsters' endorsement could be a factor in a handful of battleground states that will decide the Nov. 5 election, including Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania, where union membership is strong.
O'Brien and other union representatives met with Harris on Sept. 16 after meeting with Trump in January.
The Teamsters, one of the country's largest unions, represents truck drivers and a wide range of other workers, including airline pilots and zookeepers.
The union endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, as well as Democrats Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. It picked Republicans in some earlier elections.
The Teamsters said Teamsters’ polling data showed that, before Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race on July 21, members backed Biden 44.3 percent to Trump’s 36.3 percent.
Most major unions have endorsed Harris, including the United Auto Workers union. The AFL-CIO, which represents 60 unions and 12.5 million workers, endorsed Harris in July.
O'Brien spoke to the Republican National Convention in July, but also criticized Trump for suggesting that workers who go on strike could be fired.
The union will present the results of polling of its members to the executive board on Sept. 18, which is one factor in its decision making.
Asked if the union could opt not to make an endorsement, O'Brien said: "We are going to look at any and all options. ... We need to make sure we make the right decision."
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