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President Biden met with the Teamsters union in Washington on Tuesday in hopes of scoring an endorsement that will shore up his support among Big Labor ahead of the November election.
Mr. Biden met with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien and other top executives of the 1.3 million member labor union. He will also participate in a roundtable discussion with rank-and-file members, including “UPS drivers, American Red Cross technicians, film and television workers, freight operators, law enforcement and public employees,” according to a statement by the union.
Teamsters leadership will talk with the president about “wages and wealth inequality, corporate bankruptcy reform, antitrust enforcement in the warehouse and package delivery industries” as well as making it easier to join a union, the statement said.
The Teamsters are among the small group of unions that have yet to endorse a candidate in the 2024 election. Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, met with the union’s leaders in January.
Other presidential candidates that have met with the Teamsters leadership include independent Robert Kennedy Jr. and Democrat Marianne Williamson.
An endorsement by the Teamsters could have a massive impact in the battleground states, including Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where the union has a large membership. Mr. Biden won the Teamsters’ endorsement in 2020 and carried all three states, landing him in the White House.
Mr. Biden, who frequently refers to himself as “the most pro-labor president in U.S. history,” has already won endorsements from the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers. He has also secured endorsements from more than two dozen other unions, including the National Education Association, Laborers’ International Union of North America, and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
“The president is proud to have strengthened union protections and created millions of union jobs, and he appreciates the opportunity to discuss his historic record with the Teamsters and earn their support,” Mr. Biden’s campaign said in a statement.
Although the Teamsters did endorse Mr. Biden four years ago, it waited until mid-August, just weeks before Election Day, before doing so.
An endorsement from the Teamsters would enable either major candidate to position himself as an ally of the middle class. Democrats traditionally have an edge when it comes to winning votes from union households.
Mr. Trump cut into that dominance in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, but union households overwhelmingly went for Mr. Biden in 2020.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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