Vice President Kamala Harris has encountered another setback when it comes to winning the support of union and working-class Americans, as the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) decided not to endorse a presidential candidate for the 2024 elections.
Earlier this October, the IAFF's leaders – who represent over 350,000 firefighters, emergency medical personnel, rescue workers and other related emergency services workers across the United States and Canada – narrowly voted against endorsing a presidential candidate by a margin of 1.2 percent. (Related: Mayor of Muslim-majority city in Michigan endorses DONALD TRUMP for president.)
"Today, the IAFF Executive Board, by a margin of 1.2 percent, voted to not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election," said IAFF General President Edward Kelly in an official statement on Oct. 3 following the executive board's vote. "Over the past year, the IAFF took unprecedented steps to hear our members’ views on the candidates and the policy issues that matter most to them."
"As we have over our 106-year history, the IAFF Executive Board determined that we are better able to advocate for our members and make progress on the issues that matter to them if we, as a union, are standing shoulder-to-shoulder," continued the statement. "This decision, which we took very seriously, is the best way to preserve and strengthen our unity. We encourage our members – and all eligible voters – to get out and make their voices heard in the upcoming election."
Both vice presidential candidates, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, made personal appeals to the IAFF during a convention in Boston in August. Harris, whose campaign strategy involves seeking support from unions, also addressed IAFF members at a conference in Washington, D.C. However, these appeals failed to secure the union's endorsement.
This recent decision contradicts the union's choice in 2020 when it endorsed President Joe Biden's candidacy.
Teamsters also refused to endorse Harris
This non-endorsement from the IAFF came after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters – representing truck drivers, freight workers and other workers – did the same in September.
"The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables," Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said. "Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business. We sought commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries – and to honor our members’ right to strike – but were unable to secure those pledges.
"This year, no candidate for President has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters' International Union."
The decision came after an internal poll found that 60 percent of members believed the union should endorse former President Donald Trump compared to 34 percent for Harris and six percent who said they would support another candidate.
"It's a great honor. They're not going to endorse the Democrats. That's a big thing," Trump said during a campaign stop in New York City in September. "Democrats automatically have the Teamsters. They took a vote, and I guess I was at 60 percent or more, and that’s a great honor."
Visit KamalaWatch.com for similar stories regarding the campaign of the vice president.
Watch Republican lobbyist Matt Schlapp denouncing Kamala Harris as a "radical extremist" and her policies as "unacceptable to middle America" below.
This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.
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Sources include:
BigLeaguePolitics.Substack.com
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