(DailyAnswer.org) – The Teamsters political committee has granted $45,000 to the Republican Party in its first donation to the party for years. In a February 2024 filing, the Teamsters’ PAC reported that they had contributed to the Republican National Convention’s funds in late January. As the Teamsters have historically leaned more towards funding the Democrats, the shift in alignment sees the first substantial donation by the Teamsters to the Republicans in 20 years.
The move fuelled speculation about the Teamsters’ future political leanings and also highlighted some division within the union. John Palmer, an executive board member of Teamsters, claimed that the donation to the RNC implied endorsement of 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump. Palmer recognized, however, that the decision may have sought to gain more leverage of the union with the Republican party.
Trump already raised concerns among the Left when he privately met with Teamsters president Sean O’Brien on New Year’s Eve. When asked in January if it was a given that the Teamsters would support the Democratic candidate as they have done historically, O’Brien replied that President Joe Biden had done great work for unions and fixing pensions. He stated that whether the candidate was Republican, Democratic, or Independent, they had a duty to exercise due diligence in recommending the most suitable candidate. Prerna Jagadeesh, spokesman for the Green New Deal, called Trump a “union-busting fraud” and argued that it was possible to respect Trump supporters without giving the candidate a platform.
Biden has not always been popular with laborers himself; the president attracted criticism from railroad workers in 2022 for asking Congress to impose a union contract and avert a planned strike that did not include paid sickness leave. In January, he put on a hard hat backward while posing with Minnesota Amy Klobuchar as he visited Wisconsin union workers. As far back as 2020, it was reported that union workers were snubbing Biden in favor of Trump, who is reportedly prevalent with rank-and-file union members.
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