Biden meets with Teamsters as he seeks to bolster his union support
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden courted the support of the powerful International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Tuesday, reminding its leaders and members of his record on unions as likely Republican challenger Donald Trump tries to make gains among the blue-collar workers that helped propel his 2016 victory.
Biden met with the Teamsters
at its headquarters and emphasized the administration’s support of unions and his longtime support for the labor movement. Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said after the meeting that Biden has been “great” for workers but stressed that “there’s still a lot of work to be done” to bolster unions.
“There’s always a threat to organized labor, so we want to be proactive and make certain every candidate — not just President Biden — understands how important our issues are,” O’Brien told reporters after meeting.
Biden and the Teamsters discussed topics such as Social Security, Medicare and the Butch Lewis Act — a measure Biden signed into law that shored up pensions for scores of workers. Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said the president vowed to continue to “hold corporations accountable, because every worker deserves respect, and billionaire executives shouldn’t pay a lower tax rate than truck drivers or warehouse workers.”
Biden met with the Teamsters nearly six weeks after Trump sat down with them to earn their support.
The president wants to harness labor’s power and reach to bolster his campaign’s efforts this year, as Trump tries to make inroads with union workers who have traditionally backed Democratic candidates. The former Republican president peeled away some blue-collar workers in his 2016 win and is looking to exploit a divide between union leaders who have backed Democratic candidates and rank-andfile members who could be swayed to vote Republican.
The United Auto Workers formally endorsed Biden even as Trump made trips to Michigan to criticize the president’s push for more electric vehicles — one of the union’s chief concerns during its strike. Trump, however, made his Michigan appearance at a nonunionized auto parts plant.
The Teamsters union represents 1.3 million workers. It backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020, although O’Brien has emphasized that the union is keeping an open mind on endorsements this cycle.