The Teamsters will not be endorsing any presidential candidate for the first time in three decades. The union released polling data showing 59.6% of members polled say they support Trump, while 34% support Harris.
In a statement, the Teamsters, who have published a series of roundtable discussions they’ve held with presidential candidates, said, “…the union was left with few commitments on top Teamsters issues from either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris—and found no definitive support among members for either party’s nominee.”
The non-endorsement has sparked a backlash within the Teamsters leadership. Vice President at-large of the Teamsters and Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) member John Palmer announced he is challenging current President Sean O’Brien in the 2026 union elections, though TDU itself has not commented on his candidacy.
Former President Jim Hoffa called the non-endorsement a “failure of leadership” by O’Brien. Leaders of the reform caucus TDU have launched a new group, Teamsters Against Trump, that is openly campaigning for Harris.
The poll results, while disputed by some, do show some workers are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the failed promises of the Democrats. The results showed openness to right-wing populism in the absence of any real left, pro-worker alternative.
Union endorsements have received a spotlight this election as the Republicans seek to cynically pose as the “party of the working class,” but neither corporate party is committed to addressing issues impacting union members.
However, declining to take a stance in this election merely places the Teamsters on the sidelines at a time when many workers are seriously looking for an alternative to the two pro-corporate parties.
Teamster members have felt what it means to have no party for workers in this country when the rail strike, which included many Teamsters, was broken by the Democrats and Republicans working together. The Teamsters’ largest employer, UPS, has donated over $12 million collectively to both parties since 2023.
Contrary to O’Brien saying at the Republican National Convention that the elites have no party, they actually work hand in hand with both against the interests of all workers. The entire labor movement is fighting on weaker footing so long as there is no political party organized around a pro-worker program that doesn’t take a cent from billionaires or corporations.
This is a huge missed opportunity for both Teamsters leadership and TDU to chart a new path forward politically for the labor movement. Instead of non-endorsement or campaigning for Harris, Teamsters leadership and TDU should move towards organizing for a new working class party in this country and in the meantime endorse the best pro-worker candidate running, Jill Stein.
The Teamsters and other unions should run independent candidates in elections on an unabashedly pro-worker program, open their doors to the millions disgusted by both parties, join forces with anti-war groups like Abandon Harris and the Uncommitted movement, and crucially, organize in workplaces across the country.
New organizing drives like the Teamsters taking on Amazon, and strike action like we are seeing with machinists at Boeing strengthen the labor movement as a whole, is helping raise the confidence of workers to fight for their own independent interests and can become a catalyst of struggle for building towards an independent workers party.