January 1, 2025

International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien (left) and Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Getty Images (L) | Reuters (R)

Vice President Kamala Harris to sit down with members of international fraternity truck driver in Washington on Monday to drum up support from broad unions.

There are still 50 days until the November election. truck driverWith 1.3 million members, it is one of the last organized labor groups yet to call a presidential election Endorsement.

Teamsters have traditionally supported Democratic presidential candidates, but only if both parties hold a nominating convention.

This year, however, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien made it clear the union would wait to approve a candidate who he said offers the best option for working families. Even if it means going against decades of tradition.

On Monday, Harris will meet with rank-and-file Teamsters as well as O’Brien and other members of the union’s executive leadership.

“The Vice President welcomed the opportunity to meet with IBT leadership and discuss how she has supported and defended unions throughout her career, including as part of the most pro-union administration ever,” a Harris campaign spokesperson said in a statement.

The meeting comes as Harris and her opponent, Republican former President Trump, are courting working-class voters.

“Vice President Harris cast the deciding vote for the Butch Lewis Act, which saved more than $1 million in pensions — and as president, she will work with Congress to pass the PRO Act,” the spokesperson added.

Since the Teamsters began hosting the roundtable in December, both Trump and President Joe Biden have participated in similar roundtables.

“You don’t hire someone unless you interview,” O’Brien told CBS’s “Face the Nation” earlier this month.

Throughout the review, Teamsters under O’Brien were more actively engaged on the Republican ticket than in the union’s history.

O’Brien, for example, drew attention when he spoke at the Republican National Convention in July, becoming the first Teamster to speak at a Republican nominating event.

But the Teamsters president also condemned Trump’s comments later this summer, with Republicans applauding the idea of ​​firing workers who threatened to strike.

“Firing workers who organize, strike and exercise their rights as Americans is economic terrorism,” O’Brien said in response to the comments.

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