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00:00It's the first time in three decades that the Teamsters union will not endorse a presidential
00:08candidate.
00:09One of the largest unions in the US released a statement saying neither candidate showed
00:13enough commitment to the union's demands to round up support from its members.
00:19After reviewing six months of nationwide member polling, the union was left with few commitments
00:24on top Teamsters issues from either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala
00:30Harris and found no definitive support among members for either party's nominee.
00:36It's a humiliating blow to Kamala Harris as the union has systematically endorsed Democratic
00:42presidential candidates since Vice President Al Gore in 2000, but Donald Trump welcomed
00:48the news.
00:49It's a great honor. They're not going to endorse the Democrats. That's a big thing. And this
00:55is the first time in, I guess, 50, 60 years that that's happened. Democrats automatically
00:59have the Teamsters. They took a vote, and I guess I was at 60% or more, and that's a
01:04great honor.
01:06The Teamsters launched an electronic poll among its 1.3 million members after Joe Biden's
01:11withdrawal from the race, which showed that 60% preferred to endorse Donald Trump and
01:1734% backed Kamala Harris.
01:20The Teamsters, which represent truck drivers, freight workers and workers across a variety
01:25of other sectors, was one of the last major unions to announce who it was backing. Other
01:31unions like the powerful American Federation of Teachers and the United Auto Workers chose
01:36to back Harris.
01:38They have a strong presence in swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan,
01:43Obtaining the union's endorsement could also show that the presidential candidate is receptive
01:47to the blue-collar workers' needs, making their support in the presidential race crucial
01:52for either candidate.