When the International Brotherhood of Teamsters聽聽a candidate in November鈥檚 presidential election, it left the door open for its local leaders to make their own decisions.聽聽
And it only took about 24 hours for two 50度灰视频-based Teamsters groups to rally behind the Democrats.
On Thursday, both and one of its member guilds, , announced their support for the top-ticket tandem of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
Local 688 chief Chris Tongay said his union was backing the pair 鈥渇or their unwavering dedication to fighting for the rights of working families.鈥
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鈥淧resident Biden helped save Teamsters鈥 pensions and Vice President Kamala Harris was the deciding vote,鈥 Tongay said in a statement. 鈥淭he Harris-Walz team has our backs.鈥
While national union鈥檚 announcement on Wednesday raised a few political eyebrows, its neutral stance surfaced as a possibility earlier this year.
this year that former President Donald Trump, after he met with international president Sean O鈥橞rien, claimed he had a 鈥済ood shot鈥澛燼t pickling up the endorsement from the 1.3 million-member union. In July, O鈥橞rien was a speaker at the Republican National Convention.
Also, the Washington Post reported that the Teamsters鈥 PAC has contributed $45,000 to the Republican National Committee鈥檚 convention fund, its first big donation to the RNC in almost 20 years.
And some Teamster money found its way to U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri鈥檚 senior GOP senator. In April, Hawley received a $5,000 donation from the Teamsters union鈥檚 political action committee.
Hawley also has been聽 a union representing several trades involved in the railroad industry. The union, which has endorsed Harris/Walz in the presidential race, said it backs Hawley because of his support of safety measures in the industry.
But aside from such isolated instances, labor support remains ensconced on the Democratic side.
Democrat Lucas Kunce, Hawley鈥檚 main opponent in the Nov. 5 Senate race, has picked up the lion鈥檚 share of union backing, including the nod from the Missouri AFL-CIO; Missouri State Council of Fire Fighters; Building and Construction Trades Council of both 50度灰视频 and Kansas City; and United Food and Commercial Workers.