Divya Nimmagadda is a student at Harvard Law School.
Yesterday, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters released a statement declining to endorse a candidate in the upcoming presidential election. The press release stated “After reviewing six months of nationwide member polling and wrapping up nearly a year of rank-and-file roundtable interviews with all major candidates for the presidency, the union was left with few commitments on top Teamsters issues from either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris – and found no definitive support among members for either party’s nominee….The union’s extensive member polling showed no majority support for Vice President Harris and no universal support among the membership for President Trump.” An internal, electronic poll showed that 60% of the membership wished to endorse President Trump. Vice President Harris met with Teamsters on Monday in an effort to shore up support. This is the first time the union has refused to issue an endorsement since 1996, and prior to this election, they have backed every Democratic presidential nominee since Bill Clinton.
However, some of the Teamsters regional councils in key swing states – like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada – and the Teamsters National Black Council have announced their support for Vice President Harris. Given that one in every five voters in a swing state is a union worker, both candidates have been courting union support. Over the course of the campaign, the United Auto Workers, AFL-CIO, National Education Association and other major unions have announced their support for Vice President Harris.
Earlier this week, the Department of Labor honored nine unions by adding them to the ‘Century of Service Honor Roll of American Labor Organizations.” The recognized unions – American Train Dispatchers Association; Fraternal Order of Police; International Association of Fire Fighters; International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers; National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees; National Federation of Federal Employees; National Postal Mail Handlers Union; Service Employees International Union; and United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers – collectively represent around three million members, and have been fighting for workers’ rights for more than 100 years. The ceremony was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Acting Labor Secretary Su with a focus on efforts to increase diversity within unions and in workplaces through a “multiracial, multicultural, multilingual, [and] multigenerational movement.”
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April 24
NLRB seeks to compel Amazon to collectively bargain with San Francisco warehouse workers, DoorDash delivery workers and members of Los Deliveristas Unidos rally for pay transparency, and NLRB takes step to drop lawsuit against SpaceX over the firing of employees who criticized Elon Musk.
April 22
DOGE staffers eye NLRB for potential reorganization; attacks on federal workforce impact Trump-supporting areas; Utah governor acknowledges backlash to public-sector union ban
April 21
Bryan Johnson’s ULP saga before the NLRB continues; top law firms opt to appease the EEOC in its anti-DEI demands.
April 20
In today’s news and commentary, the Supreme Court rules for Cornell employees in an ERISA suit, the Sixth Circuit addresses whether the EFAA applies to a sexual harassment claim, and DOGE gains access to sensitive labor data on immigrants. On Thursday, the Supreme Court made it easier for employees to bring ERISA suits when their […]
April 18
Two major New York City unions endorse Cuomo for mayor; Committee on Education and the Workforce requests an investigation into a major healthcare union’s spending; Unions launch a national pro bono legal network for federal workers.
April 17
Utahns sign a petition supporting referendum to repeal law prohibiting public sector collective bargaining; the US District Court for the District of Columbia declines to dismiss claims filed by the AFL-CIO against several government agencies; and the DOGE faces reports that staffers of the agency accessed the NLRB’s sensitive case files.