Recap of Harris meeting

[John Palmer]

I wanted to take a moment to update everyone on todays roundtable. First and foremost Vice President Harris was kind,warm and very on point
In opening she spoke to Donald Trump's record with labor, his crossing of a picket line, his appointment of union busting attorneys to the National Labor Relations Board, his nullifying of overtime pay to many employees in certain classifications, his promises or lies to us about fixing or dealing with the pension crisis, versus her long standing support of the PRO Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-.../house-bill/20 and the creation of thousands of union jobs through infrastructure improvements and manufacturing recruitment.

She adressed the fact that our pensions were rescued by Democrats after they took office, and the removal of those union busters at the NLRB.She fielded questions about Amazon Organizing, the RLA and recent rail settlement, her support for our struggle against UPS, and she reiteratted her desire to pass the PRO Act when the bill hits her desk.

The rank and file members and questioners were all very pleased and impressed with her responses and passion for working men and women.

So this goes on to the GEB on Wednesday for discussion around the poll results and an endorsement vote. You all know where I stand on this, I believe the majority of this board gets it. I'm saddened that we wasted all this time on a ridiculous dog and pony show. We should have laid out the bare facts to our members and endorsed the obvious choice Kamala Harris from the moment she announced.

[Ibtlu710]

OBrien has wasted all of this time putting on a horse and pony show when we should already have boots on the ground working GOTV plans in key states. With or without an endorsement on Wednesday, it is going to be up to us, the members, to get the pro labor candidate(s) elected. The only obvious choice in the Presidential election is Kamala Harris!

[OT+]

NY Times: Sep. 16, 2024 @ 1810 EDT

- Jonathan Weisman


Tense Teamsters Meeting With Harris Ends With an Endorsement Still Dangling


The Teamsters president, Sean O'Brien, indicated he could announce as soon as Wednesday which presidential candidate if any union would back.


Vice President Kamala Harris held a sometimes tense meeting with Teamsters leaders on Monday, defending the Biden administration's labor policies against pointed questions and concluding with a promise that she would win the presidency and treat the union fairly with or without its backing.


While Ms. Harris has the endorsement of most of the nation's unions, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, whose truck drivers, freight workers and other members are divided in their political allegiances, has held out. Sean O'Brien, the union's combative president, said after the meeting that he could announce an endorsement - if there was an endorsement as soon as Wednesday.


John Palmer, a Teamsters executive board member and vice president at large, said the meeting had lasted a little more than an hour. He praised Ms. Harris for parrying questions on the role President Biden played in averting a rail strike in late 2022 and the ways the White House could have been more helpful in a Teamsters dispute last summer with United Parcel Service.


Ms. Harris repeatedly castigated her opponent, former President Donald J. Trump, for appointing anti- union members to the National Labor Relations Board when he was president and reminded the Teamsters that Mr. Biden had shored up pensions for thousands of union members.


At the end of the meeting Ms. Harris told the leaders of the union, which has 1.3 million members, "I'm confident I'm going to win this," according to Mr. Palmer. She also said, “I want your endorsement, but if I don't get it, I will treat you exactly as if I had gotten your endorsement," he added - a characterization that Ms. Harris's campaign aides did not contradict.


After the meeting, Mr. O'Brien said that he still needed time to consider the union's next move. Ms. Harris opened the meeting by saying she understood she might not get the union's endorsement, and that some Teamsters would be voting on issues beyond labor, such as the border, according to another person in the room.


That person said she had asked that Teamsters leaders educate their members about the bipartisan border control bill that she had backed and that Mr. Trump had killed. She also recalled how Mr. Trump had told Elon Musk that striking workers should be fired, and she said to them, "Listen to the guy when he's told you who he is."


Mr. O'Brien asked for speaking slots at both party conventions, and was given a prime-time slot by the Republicans but not by the Democrats.


He has met with Mr. Trump at his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion and in Washington.


Mr. Biden has been lauded by many union presidents as the most pro-labor president in history. He walked the picket line with striking United Automobile Workers and included pro-union measures in his signature domestic achievements, the infrastructure bill, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.


But allies of Mr. O'Brien indicated that they were still angry that Mr. Biden signed legislation ending a rail strike and imposing a labor agreement between rail companies and workers. Ms. Harris said that the move had been initiated by Congress, not the president. They also hit her for not pre-emptively saying the White House would play no role in settling the Teamsters' dispute with UPS.


The protracted holdout has divided the union. The Teamsters National Black Caucus, along with some prominent union locals, went ahead and endorsed Ms. Harris, raising the pressure on Mr. O'Brien. But he insisted that no endorsement could be made before the conventions, and then said that no decision could be reached before an in- person meeting with Ms. Harris.


"I think he knows he's on his heels and is looking for a way forward without admitting he made a mistake," Mr. Palmer said.


A spokesman for Mr. O'Brien did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

.................................................. .............

Jonathan Weisman is a politics writer, covering campaigns with an emphasis on economic and labor policy. He is based in Chicago.

[Teamster4Life]

I wanted to take a moment to update everyone on todays roundtable. First and foremost Vice President Harris was kind,warm and very on point
In opening she spoke to Donald Trump's record with labor, his crossing of a picket line, his appointment of union busting attorneys to the National Labor Relations Board, his nullifying of overtime pay to many employees in certain classifications, his promises or lies to us about fixing or dealing with the pension crisis, versus her long standing support of the PRO Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-.../house-bill/20 and the creation of thousands of union jobs through infrastructure improvements and manufacturing recruitment.

She adressed the fact that our pensions were rescued by Democrats after they took office, and the removal of those union busters at the NLRB.She fielded questions about Amazon Organizing, the RLA and recent rail settlement, her support for our struggle against UPS, and she reiteratted her desire to pass the PRO Act when the bill hits her desk.

The rank and file members and questioners were all very pleased and impressed with her responses and passion for working men and women.

So this goes on to the GEB on Wednesday for discussion around the poll results and an endorsement vote. You all know where I stand on this, I believe the majority of this board gets it. I'm saddened that we wasted all this time on a ridiculous dog and pony show. We should have laid out the bare facts to our members and endorsed the obvious choice Kamala Harris from the moment she announced.

Thanks for the update John, glad to know there are still a few in this union that aren't afraid to speak out for whats obviously the best direction for the union. Endorse Harris now.

[Mr. Teamster]

I gained a little respect for the General President when he included both sides to the table.

[Bob Randall]

Well...my thoughts. Harris is the only "choice". That said...to what end? Regardless of an endorsement there will be no material activity afterward. Thirty plus years in the Teamsters has never once shown me a bonaflide effort by the IBT to turn out votes with respect to any political matter. Sure, it will suggest to Locals to implement something. Subsequent to that suggestion a "political coordinator" from the IBT will follow up with a phone call to the Locals to see what, if anything, they have done. The Locals respond with some bullshit fabrication simply to appease on paper. A material program would include an endorsement followed by a plan that includes phone banking, door knocking, 'Get Out The Vote' activites, etc. Of course, an endorsement well in advance of these activites is necessary to put a program such as this into real action. Now...I get it. The IBT should not be able to punish Locals or members for choosing not to take part or for disagreeing with the choice. However, the IBT has a serious record of "rewarding" Locals that follow its suggestions and directives. Ain't rocket science. Simply a willingness to engage in some real hard work. If I can be frank here, voters are, and have been, pretty polarized for quite some time. An endorsement alone here likely will not make a difference that can be measured. The activities described above would have. It's likely too late to turn this charade into a genuine effort.

[overnighter]

Joe Biden’s NLRB just ordered Starbucks to reopen stores after they retaliated again their workers for organizing. This man baby needs to cop the fuck on and help get the most pro-union administration(s) ever elected. This is just ridiculous. What a clown show.

[Magruder]

Joe Biden’s NLRB just ordered Starbucks to reopen stores after they retaliated again their workers for organizing. This man baby needs to cop the fuck on and help get the most pro-union administration(s) ever elected. This is just ridiculous. What a clown show.

Agree 100%. It's the same Biden NLRB that just made Amazon delivery drivers eligible for organizing as Amazon employees. After what Biden/Harris did for our pensions, we've NEVER looked so stupid.

[working396]

Agree 100%. It's the same Biden NLRB that just made Amazon delivery drivers eligible for organizing as Amazon employees. After what Biden/Harris did for our pensions, we've NEVER looked so stupid.

Like someone else said it's time to get this nonsense over with. This late in the game it just don't mean that much.

[Nuzzy]

Sean O'brien is certainly derelict to duty and the evidence couldn't be more clear. He has the best labor president in decades that has saved our pensions and given our Brotherhood the best opportunities to grow our ranks with the administration standing on those picket lines. He then flips the bird at those wins for all of us to give legitimacy to Trump who clearly is a TRAITOR, RAPIST, RACIST, FRAUD, CONVICTED FELON, AND UNION BUSTER. He needs to RESIGN or we need to DEFEAT him as a Brotherhood ✊️.