Sep 18, 2024
Teamsters' Endorsement Announcement Shocks EVERYONE
The Teamsters Union refused to endorse both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
- 11 minutes
Any reaction to the Teamsters
decision not to endorse?
No. They were. It's a great honor.
They're not going
to endorse the Democrats.
That's a big thing.
And this is the first time in, I guess,
50, 60 years that that's happened.
Democrats automatically
have the Teamsters.
[00:00:15]
They took a vote,
and I guess I was at 60% or more.
And that's a great honor.
I mean, it's really I've had
a lot of Teamsters work for me.
A lot of the concrete trucks
built all these buildings
that you see in New York City.
- The Teamsters.
- Never did.
I think I'd see the day where an American
politician, a candidate for president,
[00:00:35]
would say that it is a great honor
that a union didn't endorse him,
but also didn't endorse the Democrat.
So in this case, we're talking
about the Teamsters union,
and they have decided we're just not going
to endorse either candidate.
[00:00:53]
And I think that has a lot to do
with where the actual members stand
on this presidential race.
You might be surprised by it.
I personally am not, according to a survey
or two survey data collected and released
by the union on Wednesday,
[00:01:10]
close to 60% of members who participated
in the electronic poll support Trump,
while 34% back
the vice president, Kamala Harris.
Moreover, another survey,
which was conducted via phone, found Trump
leading Harris again with union members
[00:01:28]
by 58% to Kamala Harris's 31%.
Now, this news comes after an apparently
tense conversation and meeting between
the Teamsters president, Sean O'Brien.
[00:01:44]
This was a meeting
that happened earlier this week.
Now, Teamsters President Sean O'Brien
had asked to have two speaking slots.
One at the RNC, one at the DNC.
I'm sure you all remember
he did speak at the RNC.
I thought his speech at the RNC
was fantastic.
People got mad at me for saying that.
It is what it is.
[00:02:01]
It was a great speech.
He did not speak at the DNC
even though he wanted to.
He didn't get an invite.
Now, Shawn Fain, who's the president
of the United Auto Workers,
did give a speech.
So I'm glad that that happened.
But, you know, Shawn O'Brien,
of course, did not speak at the DNC.
[00:02:18]
Now, John Palmer, a Teamsters executive
board member and vice president at large,
said the meeting had lasted
a little more than an hour.
He praised Harris by parrying questions
on the role President Biden played
[00:02:34]
in averting a rail strike in late 2022,
and the ways the white House could have
been more helpful in a Teamsters dispute
last summer with United Parcel Service.
- Hey, don't scroll away.
- Come back, come back.
Because before the video continues,
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[00:02:52]
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Okay so I want to pause right there.
Biden stepping in to prevent the rail
workers from striking clearly had
[00:03:09]
some political consequences here,
and we updated that story by saying,
while he did fight to avert a rail
strike behind the scenes,
he also fought to secure the paid time off
that the workers wanted.
But it still wasn't great optics,
and it seriously did not sit well
[00:03:29]
with some of the Teamsters.
When Biden stepped in and prevented
that rail strike from happening.
And I think there are
other issues at play as well.
I mean, when you think about it,
when the train derailment happened
in East Palestine, Ohio, Biden didn't go
[00:03:46]
visit until way later, I think
about a year later, he did finally visit.
But Trump was savvy enough to go ahead
and visit the area by McDonald's.
For all of the, you know,
first responders and workers
who were there to clean up the mess
that Norfolk Southern had had caused.
[00:04:05]
And those are like little retail politics,
you know, type situations
that do bode well for the person
who's savvy enough to engage properly.
I think in that case,
Trump engaged properly.
Biden didn't.
It's just the fact of the matter.
[00:04:21]
And look, you can know everything
about the two candidates policy wise,
but that's separate from the optics.
Okay.
When you have Trump at least providing
this illusion that he cares about workers
more than Biden does, well, then that's
going to benefit him in the election.
[00:04:39]
And I think that that's partly
what we're seeing here.
I have more to say,
but let's get to some more details here.
So allies of O'Brien indicated
that they were still angry that Biden
signed legislation ending a rail strike
and imposing a labor agreement
between rail companies and workers.
[00:04:54]
Harris said that the move had been
initiated by Congress, not the president.
They also hit her for not preemptively
saying the white House
would play no role in settling
the Teamsters dispute with UPS.
[00:05:10]
I think Democrats
have a real problem here.
Okay.
I think it would be a mistake
to be upset with the Teamsters Stirs
for supporting Trump over Harris.
At least the members remember, the union
didn't endorse one candidate or the other,
but I do think that this is a sign
of Democrats losing their appeal
[00:05:29]
among working class Americans.
And this has been a growing problem.
It doesn't mean that, you know,
Donald Trump is necessarily
going to be better for workers,
but it does mean that workers increasingly
feel abandoned by the Democratic Party.
So Harris apparently understood
that she might not get the endorsement
[00:05:47]
from the union, which has typically backed
the Democratic presidential candidate.
Now, some union members would be
voting on other issues beyond labor,
including the border,
according to one person in the room.
And that's another issue where Trump might
seem more effective than Kamala Harris.
[00:06:07]
Right.
The issue of immigration,
the issue of the border.
That person said that she had asked
that Teamsters leaders
educate their members about the bipartisan
border control bill that she had backed
and that Trump had killed.
She also recalled
how Trump had told Elon Musk
[00:06:24]
that striking workers should be fired.
And she said to them, listen to the guy
when he's told you who he is.
And look, it is true.
Trump has said some pretty terrible things
about unions, which is probably
why the Teamsters have not endorsed
Donald Trump over Kamala Harris.
[00:06:40]
They've just decided
not to endorse either candidate.
But when the Biden administration kind of
ignored some of the issues at the border
and didn't really care to do
anything about it until the final hour,
when it became a political liability.
Pretty sure the workers noticed that.
See, that's the thing.
[00:06:59]
I think one of the bigger issues is
this underestimating of American voters,
insulting their intelligence,
and just assuming
that you can just pull a narrative
and they'll buy it hook, line and sinker.
That's not happening.
[00:07:15]
Now, following the data that showed
members supporting Trump over Harris
almost 2 to 1, Sean O'Brien released
a statement regarding the union's decision
to stay neutral in this presidential race.
The Teamsters thank all candidates
for meeting with members face to face
during our unprecedented roundtables.
[00:07:32]
Unfortunately, neither major candidate was
able to make serious commitments to our
union to ensure the interests of working
people are always put before big business.
And he added that we sought commitments
from both former President Donald Trump
[00:07:47]
and Vice President Kamala Harris not
to interfere in critical union campaigns
or core Teamsters industries,
and to honor our members right to strike,
but were unable to secure those pledges.
That's going to speak volumes
for the Teamsters, and I'm really sad
[00:08:05]
to hear that they were unable to secure
that commitment from Kamala Harris.
I mean, I feel like that's a layup.
Democrats, Republicans and independents
proudly call our union home
and we have a duty, says Sean O'Brien, to
represent and respect every one of them.
[00:08:22]
We strongly encourage all our members
to vote in the upcoming election and to
remain engaged in the political process.
But this year, no candidate for president
has earned the endorsement
of the Teamsters International Union.
[00:08:37]
So that's where the Teamsters are at.
I'm sure that there are plenty
of Democratic voters
who are furious about this.
I'm sure the Democratic Party
and establishment is furious about this,
but rather than getting angry,
I think that it would be better
to maybe just pause and self-reflect.
[00:08:55]
Why is it that an increasing percentage
of American voters no longer see
the Democratic Party as the party of FDR,
no longer see the Democratic Party
as the party that looks out
for working class Americans.
It is a problem for Democrats,
because what are they going to use to
[00:09:13]
differentiate themselves from Republicans?
Typically, they lean into the culture wars
or identity politics, but that's
also going to be a failing strategy,
because if you look at the Teamsters,
I mean, if you look at workers overall,
guys, Workers come from all walks of life.
[00:09:31]
Different political views,
different priorities.
The one thing that unites all workers
is what they experience at the workplace.
That is, that is the glue
that bonds us as Americans, right?
And so if the Democratic Party
leans into and is hyper focused
[00:09:51]
on the culture war issues or the identity
politics that seeks to divide us,
it's just not going to speak well
to workers who are part of a union,
especially if you're looking
for their endorsement.
They need to focus on economic policies
that actually improve Americans lives.
[00:10:08]
I will give Kamala Harris a little bit
of credit, in that she has been
a little more of a hardliner
when it comes to dealing with the border,
doesn't seem to have played,
strongly enough with the Teamsters to make
a difference, but it doesn't matter.
I think she's understanding that there's
a real problem that needs to be addressed,
[00:10:27]
and I also give her credit
for understanding that we need to increase
the stock of housing in this country.
I haven't really seen a detailed plan
on how she intends to do that,
and I do worry about that money
that would be allocated for a project
like that being squandered on either
[00:10:42]
private corporations or non-profits
that have done a real good job
squandering our money here in California.
But she at least is able to identify
what some of the issues are.
I would say that she'd be best served
in honing in on what the details of those
[00:10:59]
policy proposals are and just really,
really leaning in
to improving the economic situation
for ordinary Americans in this country.
So we'll see how it plays out.
But the Teamsters,
they're going to sit out this election.
- They are not endorsing either candidate.
- Thanks for watching the video, guys.
[00:11:18]
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