WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Askume) – Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said the 1.3 million-member Teamsters union could decide by Wednesday who to support after members met with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris on Monday.
Union representatives met with her Republican rival Donald Trump in January . “We can’t just put this issue to the side,” O’Brien told reporters about an hour after meeting with Harris.
Most major unions have endorsed Harris, including the United Auto Workers . The AFL-CIO, which represents 60 unions and 12.5 million workers, endorsed Harris in July. The Teamsters Union is one of the nation’s largest unions.
O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention in July butTrump was also criticized for suggesting that striking workers should be fired.
The union will present the results of its members’ vote to the executive committee on Wednesday.
Asked if the union could choose not to support it, O’Brien said: “We will look at all options … we need to make sure we make the right decision.”
The Teamsters’ support could be a factor in several key states that decide the Nov. 5 election, including union-heavy Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
He said elections are important but not the only factor considered by unions when supporting them.
“As we all know, the Teamsters Union is very different from most unions,” O’Brien said. “We’re not just representing registered Democrats, we’re also representing registered Republicans and independents … and we have to keep that in mind.”
If elected, Harris will work with Congress to pass legislation that will make organizing easier and “end union busting once and for all,” her campaign said in a statement.
Harris told the Teamsters he is “committed to continuing to fight for union workers like him every day.”
O’Brien said union representatives discussed the Amazon (AMZN.O) issue in the meeting with Harris.
Hundreds of Amazon delivery drivers from three delivery service partners in Queens, New York, are demanding that Amazon recognize their union and negotiate a truck driver contract, the union said earlier on Monday.
O’Brien said they also discussed proposed legislation governing the ability of workers to join unions.
The Teamsters union, founded in 1903, backed Biden in 2020, Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, though it has occasionally voted for Republicans in early elections.
