LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville's local Teamsters chapter is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ahead of the upcoming election on Nov. 5.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, however, declined Wednesday to endorse either Harris or former President Donald Trump for president, saying neither candidate had sufficient support from the 1.3 million-member union.
According to Teamsters Local 89, a notice was mailed to the entire chapter's membership over the summer regarding a straw poll on the presidential election.
"Local 89 members voted overwhelmingly against Donald Trump," the union said in a news release on Thursday.
The local chapter represents roughly 20,000 workers from several industries including trucking, shipping and logistics, warehousing, gaming, grocery and more.
Louisville union leaders said Harris has "stood strong with Organized Labor," pointing to her support of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and strengthening the National Labor Relations Board.
"Perhaps most important to our Union, in 2021 Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate to pass the Butch Lewis Act as part of the American Rescue Plan," they said. "Passage [of the act] saved the Central States Pension Fund from insolvent and guaranteed the livelihoods of over 200,000 current Teamster retirees and countless more in the future."
Union leaders also pointed to Walz' being a union member from his time as a schoolteacher in the National Education Association and his support of striking union workers.
Local 89 is encouraging its members to cast their ballots for the Harris-Walz ticket this November.
"In these trying and charged political times, it is crucial that all union members look beyond the issues that divide us and instead look to the issues that matter to every working person in America like ensuring your family has food on the table and a roof over their headers," union leaders said. "To do that, we must support candidates who we know will support Labor over Corporations and working people over CEOs."
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