By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Teamsters executive board is meeting on Wednesday in Washington as the 1.3 million-member union decides who to endorse in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
The Teamsters’ endorsement could be a factor in a handful of battleground states that will decide the Nov. 5 election, including Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania, where union membership is strong.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said on Monday the union could make its pick as early as Wednesday after union representatives met with Vice President Kamala Harris. They met her Republican rival Donald Trump in January.
“We can’t kick this can down the road,” O’Brien said.
The Teamsters, one of the country’s largest unions, represents truck drivers and a wide range of other workers including airline pilots and zookeepers.
The union endorsed Biden in 2020, as well as Democrats Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. It picked Republicans in some earlier elections.
Most major unions have endorsed Harris, including the United Auto Workers union. The AFL-CIO, which represents 60 unions and 12.5 million workers, endorsed Harris in July.
O’Brien spoke to the Republican National Convention in July, but also criticized Trump for suggesting that workers who go on strike could be fired.
The union will present the results of polling of its members to the executive board on Wednesday, which is one factor in its decision making.
Asked if the union could opt not to make an endorsement, O’Brien said: “We are going to look at any and all options … We need to make sure we make the right decision.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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