Former Teamsters Chief Calls Not Endorsing Harris a ‘Failure of Leadership’

Teamsters President Sean O’Brien is facing a union revolt after the organization’s national leadership declined to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House — with his predecessor calling the decision a “failure of leadership.” 

On Thursday, former Teamsters President Jim Hoffa blasted O’Brien over the union’s refusal to endorse a presidential candidate for the first time in nearly 30 years. 

“This week, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union (IBT) made a choice to not endorse a candidate in the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump,” Hoffa wrote in a statement. “This is a critical error and frankly, a failure of leadership by Sean O’Brien. This election is too important for our union to not do its

duty. We must take a stand for working Americans.” 

“There is only one candidate in this race that has supported working families and unions throughout their career, and that is Vice President Kamala Harris,” he added. 

The non-endorsement has also drawn backlash from local Teamsters chapters across the country. On Thursday, a coalition of 11 Teamsters locals — representing about one million of its 1.3 million members — announced they would be backing the Harris/Walz ticket regardless of national leadership’s decision. 

O’Brien has been in a precarious position within the union for months now. In August, after O’Brien delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention, the Teamsters X account went rogue against their own president.

“Unions gain nothing from endorsing the racist, misogynistic, and anti-trans politics of the far right,” the account wrote. “You don’t unite a diverse working class by scoffing at its diversity.” 

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Teamsters vice president at large John Palmer savaged O’Brien in his own post, writing that “It is unconscionable for any Labor leader to lend an air of legitimacy to a candidate and a political party, neither of which can be said to have done, or can be expected to do, anything to improve the lives of the workers we are pledged to represent.”

So while the Teamsters leadership may not be taking a stand on the 2024 election, in doing so O’Brien may once again be putting his own presidency at risk.