BIDEN RISKS LOSING KEY TEAMSTERS ENDORSEMENT AMID INTERNAL UNION DIVISIONS

Tue 16 July 2024:

President Joe Biden is at risk of losing a critical labor endorsement as the 1.3 million-member Teamsters union contemplates not supporting any candidate in the U.S. presidential race, Reuters reported quoting two people familiar with the matter.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has yet to finalize its decision, which is expected in the coming weeks.

If the union, which endorsed Biden in 2020, decides not to back him again, it could significantly impact his reelection campaign.

Although a Teamsters endorsement for Republican candidate Donald Trump is unlikely, internal divisions within the union may result in no endorsement at all, a first since 1996.

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Biden’s recent lackluster performance in a presidential debate on June 27 has already led some lawmakers and donors to question his ability to secure reelection and serve another term. Some believe the recent assassination attempt on Trump could quell these concerns, while others remain doubtful.

Biden’s team once considered the Teamsters endorsement a certainty, with several senior union leaders still supportive. However, strained relations and doubts about Biden’s political stamina have shifted sentiment among some leaders of the union, which represents workers in various industries, including trucking, manufacturing, and office work.

“No final decision has been made,” said Kara Deniz, a spokesperson for the Teamsters, emphasizing that any predictions are speculative.

Teamsters President Sean O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday night, offering no endorsement but thanking Trump for his invitation. He praised Trump as tough and criticized Washington for policies that harm working people. He also commended Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance for caring about working people.

“We are not beholden to anyone or any party,” O’Brien said on stage as Trump watched. “The Teamsters are not interested if you have a ‘D,’ ‘R’ or an ‘I’ next to your name. We want to know one thing: what are you doing to help American workers?”

O’Brien is not yet scheduled to speak at the Democratic convention in August.

Deniz mentioned that O’Brien had reached out to both the Democratic and Republican national committees to speak at their conventions but only received a response from Republicans.

A person involved in the planning of the Democratic convention stated that no final programming decisions had been made.

“We are building a convention in Chicago that will tell our story to the American people, including the stories of labor and union leaders and workers that President Biden has been delivering for as the most pro-union president in modern history,” said convention spokesperson Matt Hill.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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