Democrats lash out at ‘misinformed’ Teamsters as union makes landmark non-endorsement

Several Democrats responded overnight to news that the Teamsters, under General President Sean O’Brien, decided against issuing a presidential endorsement.

“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,” O’Brien said in a statement.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. who, like O’Brien, hails from the Boston area, called former President Donald Trump the “most anti-labor president we have ever had.”

“It’s clear that these workers are misinformed or uninformed about Trump’s record on labor,” McGovern told the Washington Times. “His allegiance isn’t toward working people.”

McGovern, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, said it is obvious that Trump supports “rich people” over the working class.

The Teamsters have not made a non-endorsement since the 1996 contest between former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan. Their last GOP endorsement went to former President George H.W. Bush over then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis in 1988.

Meanwhile, Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., tweeted that Harris had cast the tie-breaking Senate vote to “protect Teamsters pensions.”

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House Rules Committee ranking member James McGovern of Massachusetts

Horsford shared that Nevada’s Teamsters councils had bucked the national organization and independently endorsed Harris.

“She’s fighting for us,” Horsford said.

Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev., echoed Horsford, saying the Silver State’s Teamsters “know that Kamala Harris is a fighter for our union workers.”

“I learned it from my father who was a Teamster in Las Vegas: when we stand together, we win,” Cortez-Masto said.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, meanwhile, called the Teamsters’ decision “disappointing.”

“Donald Trump refused to support a pension bill for Teamsters. It was Biden-Harris and Democrats who saved Teamsters pensions in the Butch Lewis Act of our American Rescue Plan — without one Republican vote,” she said on X, formerly Twitter. 

Trump, however, called the non-endorsement of Harris a “great honor” for him.

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Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., speaks with President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)

“They’re not going to endorse the Democrats. That’s a big thing,” Trump said while campaigning in New York City. The GOP nominee added that the internal Teamsters vote showed about 60% of national membership support his bid.

A leading progressive in Congress, Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, called the non-endorsement “unfortunate” while adding that the Evergreen State’s sub-council still supports Harris.

“I think you’re going to see more of that across the country,” she told the Times.

In a more direct shot at O’Brien, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., claimed the national leader has been “boosting Republicans all year while supporting anti-worker, anti-choice Senate candidates.”

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O’Brien has reportedly reached out to some Republican lawmakers, like Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. And JD Vance, R-Ohio, per the BBC, but it was the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation union that recently gave the conservatives their endorsement.

Two U.S. Senate candidates whom the union did endorse, however, are Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

A spokesman for Harris’ campaign said in a statement reported by multiple outlets that Trump believes striking workers should be fired, while Harris “literally walked the picket line.”

“The Vice President’s strong union record is why Teamsters locals across the country have already endorsed her — alongside the overwhelming majority of organized labor,” Lauren Hitt said.

In that regard, a council representing 35,000 Teamsters in the key swing state of Pennsylvania ignored O’Brien’s non-endorsement and threw their weight behind Harris. 

The board of Teamsters Joint Council 40, covering Pittsburgh, Erie, State College and Washington, held a separate vote, where they unanimously selected Harris.

“She is the best for our locals and best for our unions,” council president Carl Bailey told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

O’Brien has also not been afraid to tussle with Republicans, as he and Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., nearly came to blows during a 2023 hearing in which Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had to intervene as Mullin rose from his chair — after the men told each other to “stand your butt up.”