Jessie Opoien
MADISON – Days after Wisconsin's Teamsters Joint Council 39 broke with its national leadership and endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters released a poll showing rank-and-file members in this battleground state may not be unified behind the decision.
Teamsters Joint Council 39 president Bill Carroll, who spoke at a recent Harris rally in Madison, questioned the methodology of the polling while acknowledging the union does have its share of members who support Republican former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Carroll said there are differences of opinion within the union on a variety of issues but the local's endorsements are based on which candidates they think will be most supportive of organized labor.
The union has conducted several surveys of its members throughout the campaign, before and after Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
In straw polls conducted between April 9 and July 3, Biden led in Wisconsin 73.5% to Trump's 15.3%. In an electronic poll conducted in Wisconsin between July 24 and Sept. 15, however, Trump led Harris 57% to 40.5%. The union's release of the poll did not share how many Wisconsin members weighed in.
According to the union, members were notified about the opportunity to participate in the electronic poll through the quarterly Teamsters Magazine mailed to all members in July, along with social media posts and postcards sent to members' homes. Nationwide, more than 35,000 members participated.
The labor union has been under fire since its national president, Sean O'Brien delivered a rousing speech to the Republican National Convention — the first time the union's leader had done so in its 121-year history. O'Brien's speech in Milwaukee was among the most talked about among convention attendees. He did not speak at the Democratic National Convention, but seven other major union presidents did.
Last week, the General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters elected not to endorse any candidate for U.S. President.
"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.," O'Brien said in a statement. "We sought commitments from both Trump and 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.”
In response to the national Teamsters organization's decision not to endorse, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the rank-and-file members prefer Trump.
"While the Teamsters Executive Board is making no formal endorsement, the hardworking members of the Teamsters have been loud and clear, they want President Trump back in the White House," Leavitt said in a statement. "These hardworking men and women are the backbone of America and President Trump will strongly stand up for them when he’s back in the White House."
Teamsters locals from Wisconsin, California, Nevada, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and others, however, have backed the Harris-Walz ticket.
Carroll introduced Harris at her Madison rally last week, praising her as "a champion for unions and working families."
"When we make our endorsement evaluation, it's pretty much solely on who is the candidate that is best for organized labor, and by extension, our membership," Carroll said. "We don't get in the weeds on guns or abortion or immigration or crime or any of those things. … There's no there's no question (about which slate to endorse). It's an easy answer."
Teamsters Joint Council 39 makes endorsements every election cycle, Carroll said. The only new element in this election, he said, is the International opting not to weigh in.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
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