WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� courted the support of the powerful International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Tuesday, reminding its leaders and members of his record on unions as Republican challenger Donald Trump tries to among the blue-collar workers that helped propel his 2016 victory.
Biden met with the at its headquarters and emphasized the administration's support of unions and his longtime support for the labor movement. Teamsters General President Sean O鈥橞rien said after the meeting that Biden has been 鈥済reat鈥� for workers but stressed that 鈥渢here's still a lot of work to be done鈥� to bolster unions.
鈥淭here's always a threat to organized labor, so we want to be proactive and make certain every candidate 鈥� not just President Biden 鈥� understands how important our issues are,鈥� O'Brien told reporters after meeting with the president.
Biden and the Teamsters discussed topics such as the Butch Lewis Act 鈥� a measure Biden signed into law that shored up pensions for scores of workers 鈥� Social Security and Medicare, while the president vowed to continue to 鈥渉old corporations accountable, because every worker deserves respect, and billionaire executives shouldn鈥檛 pay a lower tax rate than truck drivers or warehouse workers,鈥� said Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt.
Biden met privately with the Teamsters nearly six weeks after sat down with them to earn their support. Emerging from that meeting, Trump boasted that a significant chunk of union voters has backed him and said of a possible Teamsters endorsement, 鈥淪tranger things have happened.鈥�
Trump and Biden Tuesday night, each reaching the delegate majority that will be needed at the summertime national conventions.
The president wants to harness labor鈥檚 power and reach to bolster , as the former Republican president tries to make inroads with union workers who have traditionally backed Democratic candidates. Trump peeled away some blue-collar workers in his 2016 win and is between union leaders who have backed Democratic candidates and rank-and-file members who could be swayed to vote Republican.
Union members tend to vote Democratic, with 56% of members and households backing Biden in 2020, according to AP VoteCast. Biden, who regularly touts himself as the , has swept up from leading labor groups such as the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
鈥淭he Biden-Harris campaign is proud to have the support of the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, AFT, UAW and many other unions,鈥� said Hitt. 鈥淲e hope to earn the support of the Teamsters as well.鈥�
It鈥檚 not just the support of the Teamsters that Biden and Trump has battled over. The Democratic president traveled to Michigan last September and , becoming the first president in modern history to join an active picket line.
The , even as Trump made his own trips to Michigan to criticize the president鈥檚 push for more electric vehicles 鈥� one of the union鈥檚 chief concerns during their strike. Trump, however, had made his Michigan appearance .
The Teamsters union represents 1.3 million workers. It backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020, although O鈥橞rien has stressed that the union is keeping an open mind on endorsements this cycle. The group generally waits until after both parties' summer nominating conventions to make a formal endorsement, and will 鈥渕ost likely鈥� do so again this year, once it polls its members, solicits rank-and-file input, and reconvenes its leadership team, O'Brien said.
The union's membership includes UPS drivers, film and television workers, freight operators, members of law enforcement and other government workers.
鈥淭he Teamsters union is good at one thing: mobilizing our members, especially when a decision and/or battle needs to be had,鈥� O鈥橞rien said, adding: 鈥淲e have proven how valuable our members are and how engaged 鈥� more importantly 鈥� they are.鈥�
Seung Min Kim, The Associated Press
