We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

On Thursday, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) announced that it will not endorse any candidate in this year’s presidential election, marking the second major union to take this stance in recent weeks.

This marks a reversal from 2020 when the IAFF strongly supported Joe Biden and was among the first unions to back his candidacy.

The IAFF executive board made the announcement in a statement that members had voted by a margin of 1.2 percent not to endorse a candidate in the race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“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,” union President Edward Kelly said after the decision was made.

“As we have over our 106-year history, the IAFF will continue its work to improve the lives of firefighters and their families,” Kelly added. “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. This decision, which we took very seriously, is the best way to preserve and strengthen our unity.”

The IAFF endorsed Biden in April 2019 as the Democratic Party primary was in its early stages and Harris was well on her way to an early exit from the race due to a lack of support. Biden also spoke at the union’s 2023 legislative conference, where he told union members that he had their back.

Earlier, one of the country’s oldest and largest unions that historically has backed Democratic presidential candidates has decided to withhold its support for Harris as well.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Sean O’Brien announced last month that, after nearly two-thirds of its members voted to support former President Donald Trump, the organization would instead choose not to endorse any candidate. The last time that happened was in 1996, The Hill reported.

“The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables,” O’Brien — who became the first Teamsters leader to speak at a Republican National Convention earlier this year — said in a statement.

He added: “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.”

The Teamsters have supported some Republican presidential candidates in the past, including Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush in the 1980s. But the decision to withhold former support for Harris is seen as a much bigger blow to her than to Trump, especially after nearly 60 percent of members who voted in an internal poll supported him over her.

“For the past year, the Teamsters Union has pledged to conduct the most inclusive, democratic, and transparent Presidential endorsement process in the history of our 121-year-old organization — and today we are delivering on that promise to our members,” O’Brien noted earlier in an X post.

“Our members are the union, and their voices and opinions must be at the forefront of everything the Teamsters do. Our final decision around a possible Presidential endorsement will not be made lightly, but you can be sure it will be driven directly by our diverse membership,” he added.

An “electronic member poll” showed Trump beating Harris, 60 percent to 34 percent, while in a “research phone poll” Trump topped Harris, 58 percent to 31 percent.

The Trump campaign took the non-endorsement in stride and essentially declared a victory. Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Levitt said in response to Wednesday’s announcement, “While the Teamsters Executive Board is making no formal endorsement, the hardworking members of the Teamsters have been loud and clear — they want President Trump back in the White House!

“These hardworking men and women are the backbone of America, and President Trump will strongly stand up for them when he’s back in the White House,” she added.

The post Another Major Union Refuses To Back Harris After Endorsing Biden appeared first on Conservative Brief.