This Breakdown Of Teamsters Locals Endorsing Harris Shows A Majority Of Members Supporting Trump
Labor union endorsements do not necessarily reflect the will of the members.
By Peter List, Editor | September 25, 2024
Following the International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ non-endorsement of Kamala Harris’ campaign for President two weeks ago, a number of Teamsters’ Joint Councils and union locals have come out and endorsed the Harris-Walz campaign.
However, an analysis of the 406-page Teamsters Presidential poll data released on Monday reveals that even within those Joint Councils and Union Locals’ that endorsed Harris-Walz, a majority of rank-and-file members support former President Donald Trump.
“For those who think endorsements by a labor organization are meaningful, this is the clearest evidence ever that labor union endorsements do not necessarily reflect the will of the members,” wrote Benjamin Pezzillo on LinkedIn.
Pezzillo analyzed the Teamsters’ national poll data and compared it to the rank-and-file preferences of those Joint Councils and Local Unions that have endorsed Harris-Walz, stating:
Of the nine Joint Councils that endorsed Harris, all nine had poll results demonstrating the members support Trump over Harris
Of the 11 Locals that endorsed Harris, only three had poll results demonstrating the members support Harris over Trump -- seven of the others supported Trump and one did not participate in the membership poll
Overall, the average of the 20 factions that endorsed Harris show:
52.2% support Trump
42% support Harris
As noted previously, the electronic member poll was conducted by a polling firm, open to all U.S. Teamsters and ran from July 24-September 15, 2024, and had more than 35,000 union members respond to it, possibly making it more statistically accurate than many political polls.
