By Christian Datoc | Washington Examiner
A series of brewing labor disputes are threatening to undermine Vice President Kamala Harris’s message on the economy just as early voting begins in a handful of states.
Harris was already dealt a political setback Wednesday when the Teamsters, one of the largest unions in the country, announced it would not endorse in the presidential race, making Harris the first Democrat since former President Bill Clinton in 1996 to be snubbed by the union.
Prior to the announcement, the Teamsters released two internal polls showing that around 60% of its members backed former President Donald Trump compared to just over 30% supporting Harris.
The announcement laid bare what could be a major liability for Harris ahead of the election. She is supported by most labor leaders, but rank-and-file members could deny her the presidency if they show up instead for Trump.
But Harris also has a second emerging labor headache: Several unions are considering strikes, threatening to upend supply chains weeks out from the November election.
Last Friday, more than 30,000 Boeing workers walked off the job, and dockworkers at ports along the Gulf and East coasts are threatening their own strike next month. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain similarly announced on Tuesday his organization will hold strike authorization votes against auto manufacturer Stellantis.
Harris did get one bit of good news on Wednesday: The Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates by 50 basis points, signaling improved economic conditions and lower borrowing costs on the horizon.
Still, prolonged labor strikes could saddle Harris, already associated with the higher cost of living under President Joe Biden, with even more economic baggage heading into November.
Skanda Amarnath, the executive director at Employ America, told the Washington Examiner that any “extra volatility in the market that leads to more reporting and stories about recession risk or economic uncertainty” would “probably be a little bit less favorable” for Harris than Trump.
The Harris campaign sought to downplay the Teamsters withholding a national endorsement, noting that individual chapters in California, Michigan, and Nevada broke with the national union to endorse Harris on Wednesday. Together, those three groups represent “hundreds of thousands of workers,” according to the Harris campaign.
“While Donald Trump says striking workers should be fired, Vice President Harris has literally walked the picket line and stood strong with organized labor for her entire career. The Vice President’s strong union record is why Teamsters locals across the country have already endorsed her — alongside the overwhelming majority of organized labor,” Harris campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said Wednesday.
The Trump campaign, meanwhile, framed Wednesday’s news as a sign that working-class voters are backing the former president, who also courted a Teamsters endorsement.
“While the Teamsters Executive Board is making no formal endorsement, the hardworking members of the Teamsters have been loud and clear — they want President Trump back in the White House,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt wrote in a statement. “These hardworking men and women are the backbone of America and President Trump will strongly stand up for them when he’s back in the White House.”
Harris has closely identified herself with the labor movement, like Biden has as president. He made history last year when he became the first sitting president to picket alongside striking union auto workers in Wayne County, Michigan.
But the prospect of labor strikes have at times strained that relationship. Biden, faced with a supply chain crisis ahead of the holiday shopping season, joined Congress in ending a labor dispute in the late fall of 2022.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sought to quiet questions about the Teamsters’s decision during Wednesday’s press briefing, noting it is just “one union.” But she was also pressed on the bubbling labor tensions.
Jean-Pierre did not say if Biden had any detailed “thoughts” about the possible strikes.
“President Biden respects the right to strike. You’ve heard me say that many times. He has said that President Biden is proud to have stood on the picket lines with UAW workers, and he believes they deserve a fair deal,” she told reporters. “Collective bargaining is something that the president believes in, just as long they do it — they come to the table and they do it in good faith, and so the president is always going to make sure he has the back of union workers.”
