Ex-Teamsters leader slams presidential non-endorsement as 'failure of leadership'

20 Sep 2024, 11:32 by https://www.facebook.com/17108852506 · AlterNet

James Hoffa Jr. at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. in 2015 (Creative Commons)
Alex Henderson
September 20, 2024Election 2024

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters made a major announcement on Wednesday, September 18: They won't be endorsing anyone in the United States' 2024 presidential race.

But some local Teamsters councils broke with their parent union; in Western Pennsylvania, for example, Teamsters Joint Council #40 endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. And former Teamsters President James Hoffa Jr. is attacking current Teamsters President Sean O'Brien's decision against making an endorsement as a "failure of leadership."

Although O'Brien spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention, he didn't endorse GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

At the time, President Joe Biden was still the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, but O'Brien never endorsed him. Nor did he endorse Harris after Biden ended his reelection campaign and Harris became the nominee.

In a statement that the Washington Post's Lauren Kaori Gurley described as a "harsh rebuke," Hoffa said, "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. This is a critical error and frankly, a failure of leadership by Sean O'Brien."

Hoffa continued, "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."

Jim Hoffa, now 83, is the son of the late Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1975 and was declared dead in 1982. The older Hoffa led the union from 1957-1971.