Any reaction to the Teamsters decision not to endorse? No. They were. It's a great honor. They're not going to endorse the Democrats. That's a big thing. And this is the first time in, I guess, 50, 60 years that that's happened. Democrats automatically have the Teamsters. [00:00:15] They took a vote, and I guess I was at 60% or more. And that's a great honor. I mean, it's really I've had a lot of Teamsters work for me. A lot of the concrete trucks built all these buildings that you see in New York City. - The Teamsters. - Never did. I think I'd see the day where an American politician, a candidate for president, [00:00:35] would say that it is a great honor that a union didn't endorse him, but also didn't endorse the Democrat. So in this case, we're talking about the Teamsters union, and they have decided we're just not going to endorse either candidate. [00:00:53] And I think that has a lot to do with where the actual members stand on this presidential race. You might be surprised by it. I personally am not, according to a survey or two survey data collected and released by the union on Wednesday, [00:01:10] close to 60% of members who participated in the electronic poll support Trump, while 34% back the vice president, Kamala Harris. Moreover, another survey, which was conducted via phone, found Trump leading Harris again with union members [00:01:28] by 58% to Kamala Harris's 31%. Now, this news comes after an apparently tense conversation and meeting between the Teamsters president, Sean O'Brien. [00:01:44] This was a meeting that happened earlier this week. Now, Teamsters President Sean O'Brien had asked to have two speaking slots. One at the RNC, one at the DNC. I'm sure you all remember he did speak at the RNC. I thought his speech at the RNC was fantastic. People got mad at me for saying that. It is what it is. [00:02:01] It was a great speech. He did not speak at the DNC even though he wanted to. He didn't get an invite. Now, Shawn Fain, who's the president of the United Auto Workers, did give a speech. So I'm glad that that happened. But, you know, Shawn O'Brien, of course, did not speak at the DNC. [00:02:18] Now, John Palmer, a Teamsters executive board member and vice president at large, said the meeting had lasted a little more than an hour. He praised Harris by parrying questions on the role President Biden played [00:02:34] in averting a rail strike in late 2022, and the ways the white House could have been more helpful in a Teamsters dispute last summer with United Parcel Service. - Hey, don't scroll away. - Come back, come back. Because before the video continues, we just want to urge you [00:02:52] to lend your support to tight U power. Our honest reporting. You do it at tight.com/team and we love you for it. Okay so I want to pause right there. Biden stepping in to prevent the rail workers from striking clearly had [00:03:09] some political consequences here, and we updated that story by saying, while he did fight to avert a rail strike behind the scenes, he also fought to secure the paid time off that the workers wanted. But it still wasn't great optics, and it seriously did not sit well [00:03:29] with some of the Teamsters. When Biden stepped in and prevented that rail strike from happening. And I think there are other issues at play as well. I mean, when you think about it, when the train derailment happened in East Palestine, Ohio, Biden didn't go [00:03:46] visit until way later, I think about a year later, he did finally visit. But Trump was savvy enough to go ahead and visit the area by McDonald's. For all of the, you know, first responders and workers who were there to clean up the mess that Norfolk Southern had had caused. [00:04:05] And those are like little retail politics, you know, type situations that do bode well for the person who's savvy enough to engage properly. I think in that case, Trump engaged properly. Biden didn't. It's just the fact of the matter. [00:04:21] And look, you can know everything about the two candidates policy wise, but that's separate from the optics. Okay. When you have Trump at least providing this illusion that he cares about workers more than Biden does, well, then that's going to benefit him in the election. [00:04:39] And I think that that's partly what we're seeing here. I have more to say, but let's get to some more details here. So allies of O'Brien indicated that they were still angry that Biden signed legislation ending a rail strike and imposing a labor agreement between rail companies and workers. [00:04:54] Harris said that the move had been initiated by Congress, not the president. They also hit her for not preemptively saying the white House would play no role in settling the Teamsters dispute with UPS. [00:05:10] I think Democrats have a real problem here. Okay. I think it would be a mistake to be upset with the Teamsters Stirs for supporting Trump over Harris. At least the members remember, the union didn't endorse one candidate or the other, but I do think that this is a sign of Democrats losing their appeal [00:05:29] among working class Americans. And this has been a growing problem. It doesn't mean that, you know, Donald Trump is necessarily going to be better for workers, but it does mean that workers increasingly feel abandoned by the Democratic Party. So Harris apparently understood that she might not get the endorsement [00:05:47] from the union, which has typically backed the Democratic presidential candidate. Now, some union members would be voting on other issues beyond labor, including the border, according to one person in the room. And that's another issue where Trump might seem more effective than Kamala Harris. [00:06:07] Right. The issue of immigration, the issue of the border. That person said that she had asked that Teamsters leaders educate their members about the bipartisan border control bill that she had backed and that Trump had killed. She also recalled how Trump had told Elon Musk [00:06:24] that striking workers should be fired. And she said to them, listen to the guy when he's told you who he is. And look, it is true. Trump has said some pretty terrible things about unions, which is probably why the Teamsters have not endorsed Donald Trump over Kamala Harris. [00:06:40] They've just decided not to endorse either candidate. But when the Biden administration kind of ignored some of the issues at the border and didn't really care to do anything about it until the final hour, when it became a political liability. Pretty sure the workers noticed that. See, that's the thing. [00:06:59] I think one of the bigger issues is this underestimating of American voters, insulting their intelligence, and just assuming that you can just pull a narrative and they'll buy it hook, line and sinker. That's not happening. [00:07:15] Now, following the data that showed members supporting Trump over Harris almost 2 to 1, Sean O'Brien released a statement regarding the union's decision to stay neutral in this presidential race. The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face to face during our unprecedented roundtables. [00:07:32] Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before big business. And he added that we sought commitments from both former President Donald Trump [00:07:47] and Vice President Kamala Harris not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries, and to honor our members right to strike, but were unable to secure those pledges. That's going to speak volumes for the Teamsters, and I'm really sad [00:08:05] to hear that they were unable to secure that commitment from Kamala Harris. I mean, I feel like that's a layup. Democrats, Republicans and independents proudly call our union home and we have a duty, says Sean O'Brien, to represent and respect every one of them. [00:08:22] We strongly encourage all our members to vote in the upcoming election and to remain engaged in the political process. But this year, no candidate for president has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters International Union. [00:08:37] So that's where the Teamsters are at. I'm sure that there are plenty of Democratic voters who are furious about this. I'm sure the Democratic Party and establishment is furious about this, but rather than getting angry, I think that it would be better to maybe just pause and self-reflect. [00:08:55] Why is it that an increasing percentage of American voters no longer see the Democratic Party as the party of FDR, no longer see the Democratic Party as the party that looks out for working class Americans. It is a problem for Democrats, because what are they going to use to [00:09:13] differentiate themselves from Republicans? Typically, they lean into the culture wars or identity politics, but that's also going to be a failing strategy, because if you look at the Teamsters, I mean, if you look at workers overall, guys, Workers come from all walks of life. [00:09:31] Different political views, different priorities. The one thing that unites all workers is what they experience at the workplace. That is, that is the glue that bonds us as Americans, right? And so if the Democratic Party leans into and is hyper focused [00:09:51] on the culture war issues or the identity politics that seeks to divide us, it's just not going to speak well to workers who are part of a union, especially if you're looking for their endorsement. They need to focus on economic policies that actually improve Americans lives. [00:10:08] I will give Kamala Harris a little bit of credit, in that she has been a little more of a hardliner when it comes to dealing with the border, doesn't seem to have played, strongly enough with the Teamsters to make a difference, but it doesn't matter. I think she's understanding that there's a real problem that needs to be addressed, [00:10:27] and I also give her credit for understanding that we need to increase the stock of housing in this country. I haven't really seen a detailed plan on how she intends to do that, and I do worry about that money that would be allocated for a project like that being squandered on either [00:10:42] private corporations or non-profits that have done a real good job squandering our money here in California. But she at least is able to identify what some of the issues are. I would say that she'd be best served in honing in on what the details of those [00:10:59] policy proposals are and just really, really leaning in to improving the economic situation for ordinary Americans in this country. So we'll see how it plays out. But the Teamsters, they're going to sit out this election. - They are not endorsing either candidate. - Thanks for watching the video, guys. [00:11:18] We also love it if you hit the join button below, because that makes you a member. And members allow us to be independent, honest. We can be as progressive as we want, no corporate media influence. 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