In his efforts to win over the pivotal union vote before November, President Joe Biden met with IBT officials on Tuesday.
Biden is vying for the support of the Teamsters, much like Trump did while he was president. A formidable force in numerous states that could decide the outcome of the election, the union has over a million members and is among the world’s largest.
The president “appreciated the opportunity to discuss his historic, pro-union record with the Teamsters,” according to Biden’s campaign, and they “agreed on the importance of protecting Social Security and Medicare, so that workers who have paid into them their entire career can retire with dignity.”
Earlier this year, Trump had a meeting with the Teamsters. The group has not yet announced its stance for 2024, but in 2016 and 2020 they backed Clinton and Biden, respectively, in their opposition to Trump. On Tuesday, the union was not anticipated to provide an instant endorsement.
Part of Trump’s plan to win over working-class voters has been to reach out to union members, who tend to vote Democratic. This is particularly true in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, where Trump lost to Biden in 2020 despite strong support from those states four years ago.
During their January meeting in Washington, Biden earned the support of the United Auto Workers, a crucial union endorsement.
By being the first sitting president to stand on a picket line alongside union workers during a strike in Michigan last year, Biden won the group’s backing, according to UAW President Shawn Fain.
“Joe Biden staked his reputation on the American worker, while Donald Trump cast blame on the American workers,” Fain stated in January. As a united working class, we must know who will be sitting in the world’s most powerful seat if we are to triumph. Thus, Joe Biden has merited our endorsement, if such a thing is necessary.
During last Thursday’s State of the Union speech by Joe Biden, Fain was a member of the audience.
Even though Biden has campaigned for years as “the most pro-union president ever,” support from union officials is no guarantee of popularity among regular workers.
The president’s campaign has been emphasising what they claim is the president’s historic support for organised labour in the lead-up to Tuesday’s meeting between Biden and the Teamsters leadership. They have highlighted victories for unions during Biden’s administration and actions taken by Trump “that hurt federal workers’ ability to organised.”
According to a statement released by the Biden campaign on Monday, the president is pleased with his record of strengthening union protections and creating millions of union jobs. He is grateful for the chance to meet with the Teamsters and share his historic record in the hopes of earning their support.
Furthermore, the campaign is highlighting what they call “historic” victories for unions under Biden’s administration. These include new contracts with Anheuser-Busch, the WGA, and the Longshoreman’s unions.
Records from the Federal Election Commission reveal that in January, when former president Trump was meeting with teamster leaders, the union’s political committee donated $45,000 to the Republican and Democratic National Committees, respectively.
Along with that, Trump also met with Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien at Mar-a-Lago towards the end of last year.
