Trump to meet with Teamsters, vows to boost U.S. workers as president

Former President Donald Trump will be sitting down with rank-and-file members of the Teamsters on Wednesday in a bid to win the endorsement of the union that typically backs Democrats.

Mr. Trump will huddle with union truck drivers and warehouse workers, including Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, at the union headquarters in Washington. It will be the first time the former president has sat down with rank-and-file members.

Mr. Trump said that American workers have no better friend them him. He also vowed to reverse Biden policies, such as trade preferences for China, that he said hurt U.S. workers.

“We’re determined to ensure that the working and middle class reap the largest gains. A nation’s highest duty is to its own citizens.  Honoring this truth is the only way to build faith and confidence in the market system,” Mr. Trump said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Mr. Trump sat down with Mr. O’Brien and hashed out an agreement for the meeting Wednesday.

According to Mr. O’Briend, the two men also discussed topics such as allegations Mr. Trump on occasion failed to pay his employees.

Some union leaders view the meetings with Mr. Trump as unproductive and accuse the ex-president of harboring anti-union views. Teamsters International Vice President at-large John Palmer said the meeting was a mistake. 

“As a United States Army Veteran, I cannot support a draft dodger, and traitor who deliberately undermines the Constitution of the United States. We should never entertain dialogue with a candidate with such an anti-union record,” he wrote in a letter to Mr. O’Brien

Still, Mr. O’Brien said that as leader of the Teamsters, he must listen to as many presidential candidates as possible. Indeed, he has sat down with presidential candidates from across the political spectrum including Democratic candidate Marianne Williamson, independent candidates Cornell West and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican Asa Hutchinson, who has since dropped out of the race.

Most labor unions, including the Teamsters, endorse Democratic candidates, though Mr. Trump previously succeeded in winning the votes of blue-collar union workers despite the union leadership backing the Democrat.

Most recently, United Auto Workers announced they would be supporting President Biden this year and UAW President Shawn Fain delivered the endorsement with a blistering denouncement of Mr. Trump.