Teamsters, Donating to Republicans for the Midterms, Deliver a Fresh Wakeup Call for Democrats

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, disillusioned and even disavowed by Democratic leaders, is showing Republicans some love in the midterms. The union’s donations are evidence of a realignment that could outlast President Trump’s term unless Democrats embrace at least some union-friendly policies like tariffs.Prior to 2024, the Teamsters backed almost no Republicans. This year, the Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education PAC gave the maximum, $5,000, to each of 22 House Republicans and backed several Senate candidates, Politico reports. They also gave $50,000 to the Republican Attorneys General Association.In 2024, Sean O’Brien became the first Teamsters president to address a GOP convention. In his speech, he noted that his Big Labor faction is “not beholden to anyone or any party” and thanked Mr. Trump for “opening the RNC’s doors to the Teamsters union.”Democrats cling to the hope that Mr. O’Brien is going rogue, but he’s reflecting preferences in his rank-and-file members. Mr. Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris 59.6 percent to 34 percent in the Electronic Member Poll of Teamsters last year and 58 percent to 31 percent in a telephone poll.Last week, Mr. O’Brien described to the Free Press an interaction with Ms. Harris during last year’s campaign. A Teamsters vice president, Joan Corey, said Ms. Harris told her that the union “better get on board” and seemed to think she was “going to win with you or without you.”Mr. O’Brien described Ms. Harris’s attitude and body language as “smug,” saying it “turned the majority” of Teamsters board members “off her.” The union didn’t make an endorsement, the first time it stayed neutral since 1996 and just the second time since 1960. At the RNC, Mr. O’Brien said he meets with his members “every week” and sees “an American worker being taken for granted … sold out to Big Banks, Big Tech, Corporations, and the elite.” The speech drew applause and hosannas that, for Teamsters, countered the long-standing caricature of the GOP as the party of big bosses.Mr. O’Brien told Ms. Weiss that the Democratic-socialist from Vermont, Senator Bernard “Bernie” Sanders, “doesn’t talk to me anymore” following his RNC speech. The silent treatment undermines the core message of the senator’s statements in favor of employees and of his Fighting Oligarchy Tour.Democrats and the Teamsters were once united in rhetoric and policy that’s described as “populist.” In a 2004 TV interview as a candidate for the Senate, President Obama told an attorney, Frank Avilas, “I believe I’m a populist.” He kept embracing the term as president, hoping to deny it to Mr. Trump.After Mr. Trump’s 2016 victory, Democrats began redefining “populist” as a pejorative, synonymous with racism, bigotry, and nationalism. This gave the impression that they were abandoning the goals that made the term shorthand for the workingman’s concerns, giving Republicans an opening to attract blue-collars into their white-collar ranks.The Teamsters aren’t exclusive with Republicans like they long were for Democrats. They give Democrats more, including $15,000 to the party’s House campaign committee in April, almost twice what they gave its GOP counterpart. The union is dividing its largess — a win for the party Mr. Trump is remaking in his image.As Mr. Trump’s tariffs prod companies to bring manufacturing and even film production back home, Teamsters are taking note of who is addressing their concerns. They feel their concerns are being heard by the GOP as never before, and to reverse those inroads with unions, Democrats would be wise to start listening, too.

Teamsters, Donating to Republicans for the Midterms, Deliver a Fresh Wakeup Call for Democrats

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