And yet within 24 hours a huge number of local Teamster organizations endorsed Harris --- while not a single one endorsed Trump. Most of these local organizations also harshly criticized the national Teamsters president.
I think who union members support is more important than who union leaders support.Every poll of union members I've seen shows Biden/Harris doing worse with union members than any previous Democrat nominee.
Maybe, they learned something from the Keystone Pipeline unions. Joe Biden visited them and told them he would shutdown the pipelines. What did union members do? Voted for Joe Biden. It did not take long after Joe Biden took power and he kept his promise and shutdown the Keystone pipeline. The union members all lost their jobs. Way to go guys! Some people are just stupid.
A research phone poll with a small number of respondents is not really reflective of the overall opinion of union members. Apparently the poll performed by Lake Research Partners for the union contacted so few members that the Teamsters leadership refused to release information on how many members were polled. Seeing that Lake Research Partners never has performed any poll involving more than 2000 respondents the number is likely a few thousand of the 1.3 million members. The reality here is that the national Teamsters President, Sean O'Brien, is a confused Trump supporter and did not want the union to endorse Kamala Harris. Of course, Sean O'Brien is the idiot who claimed that the majority of union members in AOC's district supported Trump -- making the nearly impossible leap to be someone who sounds dumber than AOC. Of course, the Teamsters in nearly all the battleground states have come out endorsing Kamala Harris in the immediate aftermath --while strongly criticizing Sean O'Brien as someone who needs to be shoved out of his job. I expect we will see Sean O'Brien's dismissal in upcoming news. Local Teamsters unions in key battleground states endorse Harris https://thehill.com/homenews/campai...al-teamsters-unions-battleground-states-2024/
Most national polls only include around 1,000-3,000 people.While lower than usual union member support is only one of many problems Harris has it is a problem and one of the reasons overall she's polling lower than Hillary Clinton.
You do realize that local chapters of the Teamsters -- representing the majority of the union members -- have endorsed Harris. Union President, Sean O'Brien is going to be removed from his job due to this blunder. Just a matter of time. Kamala Harris is polling higher than Trump nationally and she is polling higher than Trump in most battleground states. In each new mainstream poll coming out in recent days, Trump sinks further and further.
Union leaders decide who the Union endorse,as you pointed out with the O'Brien example.Polls of union members show they support Donald Trump or they support Harris lower than they did Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Joe Biden in 2020. Harris does have a lead over Trump,but her lead is 1 point lower than Hillary Clinton's was in 2016 and 5 points lower than Joe Biden's was in 2020.Joe Biden needed a 7.2 lead to beat Donald Trump.Kamala Harris's lead is currently 1.9. Harris's lead with most groups of left wing voters like union members,Black voters etc are also lower than the leads Hillary Clinton had in 2016 and Joe Biden had in 2020.
We will see the reality come November. In the meantime... Sean O'Brien's decision not to endorse a candidate has hurt the unionization movement across America. The lack of endorsement is not based on the telephone poll of members, nor on what is best for the union -- but merely based on executive infighting. The Gigantic Failure That Led to the Teamsters’ Decision Not to Endorse Harris or Trump https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/09/teamsters-union-sean-obrien-harris-trump.html BTW -- a partial list of Unions backing Kamala Harris: United Auto Workers AFL-CIO IBEW National Education Association Postal Workers Union Communication Workers of America SMART Union SEIU United Food and Commercial Workers Actors' Equity Association Arizona AFL-CIO Connecticut AFL-CIO Kentucky AFL-CIO Maine AFL-CIO Massachusetts AFL-CIO Nevada AFL-CIO New Jersey AFL-CIO New York State AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council Oregon AFL-CIO Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Washington State Labor Council King County Labor Council Wisconsin AFL-CIO Amalgamated Transit Union Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 American Federation of Government Employees AFGE Council 238 American Federation of School Administrators American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 37 American Federation of Musicians AFM Local 802 American Federation of Teachers AFT of Maryland AFT of Massachusetts Chicago Teachers Union Ohio Federation of Teachers United Federation of Teachers New York City, New York American Guild of Musical Artists American Postal Workers Union American Train Dispatchers Association Association of Flight Attendants California School Employees Association Coalition of Black Trade Unionists[896] Communication Workers of America[897] Culinary Workers Union[898] International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees[899] International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers[900] International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers[901] International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers[902] International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers[903] Local 11[904] Local 103[905][906] Local 292[907] International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 28[908] International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 186[909] International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 572[910] International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers[911] International Longshore and Warehouse Union[912] International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots[913] International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers[914] International Union of Elevator Constructors[915] International Union of Operating Engineers[916] International Union of Painters and Allied Trades[917] Laborers' International Union of North America[918] National Air Traffic Controllers Association[919] National Association of Letter Carriers[920] National Education Association[921] Ohio Education Association[922] Oregon Education Association[923] Texas State Teachers Association[924] Wisconsin Education Association Council[925] National Nurses United[926] Washington State Nurses Association[927] National Union of Healthcare Workers[928] North America's Building Trades Unions[929] Office and Professional Employees International Union[930] Orange County Labor Federation[931] Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union[932] Seafarers International Union of North America[933] Service Employees International Union[934] 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East[935] SEIU 721[936] SEIU CALIFORNIA[937] SEIU Pennsylvania council[938] SEIU United Healthcare Workers West[937] Stage Directors and Choreographers Society[939] UNITE HERE[940] UNITE HERE Local 11[941] United Association[942] United Auto Workers[943] United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America[944] United Farm Workers[688][945] United Food and Commercial Workers[946] UFCW Local 99[947] UFCW 880[948] UFCW Local 1776[949] UFCW 3000[950] United Steelworkers[951] Utility Workers Union of America[952] Writers Guild of America West PAC[953]
The endorsements are from the corrupt Union leadership, not the rank and file...Their leadership is ignoring the views of the members The national union did listen to the membership
You say that like it is a bad thing. There are those who make a credible argument that the union's political activities - beyond workplace issue lobbying- and functioning as a front for the dems has hurt unionization. So there is that. Sean Obrien basically freed up his divided membership to vote their conscience and do their own thinking. Not as sure as you are that that is a fatal career move on his part. It will cost him some support but so would endorsing Trump or Harris. He chose which lumps he preferred. If they move him out I am pretty sure that a replacement that supported Harris would take some hits for that as well. Sean Obrien asked to speak at the RNC and they said "sure come on over" and he did. He then asked to speak at the DNC and they snubbed him. Now they are pissed because he did not kow-tow to them. The dems intended that to be their punishment for Obrien speaking at the RNC. Not thinking that he might have a say in things in the end. The dems are not all that smart.