West Coast Teamsters endorse Harris in break with main union

Two West Coast councils of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union on Wednesday broke with the national order to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, shortly after the union decided to opt out of endorsing a presidential candidate for this election. 

Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said that neither Harris nor former President Donald Trump would receive the union's endorsement, which marks the first time the union has sat out of a presidential election since 1996. However, a survey of Teamster employees found the majority supported Trump over Harris.

Teamsters Joint Councils 7 and 42, which represent 300,000 union members in California, Nevada, Hawaii, and Guam, said they support Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, because of their history in supporting labor unions and expanded protections for workers, according to Politico.

“Teamster members work and live in cities as well as in rural communities, come from diverse backgrounds, and have different views, but Joint Council 7 and 42 Teamsters refuse to be divided by extremist political forces or greedy corporations that want to see us fail,” Teamsters Joint Council 7 President Peter Finn said. “As Teamsters we will stand together to have a strong voice on the job, provide for our families, and serve the communities where we work.”

The endorsement from the West Coast councils comes after Harris met with the union's leaders on Monday. The decision to withhold a national endorsement is considered a blow to the vice president's campaign, because unions usually favor Democrats. 

"While the Executive Board of the Teamsters is making no formal endorsement, the vast majority of rank-and-file working men and women in this important organization want President Donald Trump back in the White House," the Trump campaign said in a press release.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.