Teamsters Around the Country Defy Union Bosses, Endorse Kamala Harris for President

Dozens of local Teamsters around the country have chosen to defy their union bosses, and have endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

On Sept. 18, the national Teamsters union announced that for the first time in nearly 30 years they would not be endorsing any political candidate. But local Teamsters around the country have decided to publicly endorse a candidate anyways, many of whom are swing states.

Ten local Teamsters units in Florida, Georgia and southeastern Alabama — representing about 45,000 people — announced that they were endorsing the vice president's campaign for presidency, as reported by the Palm Beach Post.

"We decided we wanted to endorse the Harris-Walz campaign," Josh Zivalich, president of Teamsters Joint Council 75, told the Post. "We think the stakes are very high for working people, and certainly union people, and we thought it was important to make a stand."

Those southeastern states casting their endorsement follow a series of endorsements from around the country. Teamsters regional councils in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and western Pennsylvania also endorsed Harris for president, as reported by the Washington Post.

Local Teamsters unions in major cities such as New York City, Philadelphia, Miami and Long Beach, California, also endorsed Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The Teamsters Local 89 board, representing Kentucky and southern Indiana, also announced Thursday that they would be endorsing Harris, as reported by the Kentucky Lantern.

Notably among these endorsements are the local unions in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada, who have been consistent swing states in previous years. Many previously saw the national union's refusal to endorse a candidate as a major blow to Harris' campaign