By Ray Cardello for October 22, 2024, Season 29 / Post 23

Unions have always made their position known in politics, and that position has traditionally been on the Left. This practice has always bothered me, especially this year. Driving a school bus, I was forced to join the Teamsters Union. Being in management for my entire career, I have never been a fan of unions and do not see much value in them now. I was extremely disappointed and truthfully maddened when the Teamsters Union opted not to support a presidential candidate in 2024. Union executives decided to sit on the fence despite nearly 60% of members polled supporting Donald Trump. This was a spineless move. The union bosses, led by President Sean O’Brien, usually endorsed the Democrat candidate but could not endorse the feckless Kamala Harris. You would think they would have supported Trump with the amount of rank-and-file support he had. Still, to avoid falling into bad graces with the Democrats, they decided to do their best Switzerland impersonation and remain neutral by endorsing neither candidate.

Union bosses belittle their rank and file when they “recommend” candidates for us to cast our votes. This assumes the members are incapable of thinking for themselves, doing the research, and deciding on the best candidate to address the issues of the members and their families. This is similar to celebrities using their platform to endorse their favored candidates. Why should I care who Taylor Swift or Bruce Springsteen want in office? As someone once said about celebrities, “Shut up and sing,” that is what we want you to do, period. You have to admire someone like Patrick Mahomes, quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, who has publicly stated that he believes his support should be kept private, even though his wife has been outspoken about her support, which was in retaliation to Taylor Swift.

The union practice is not limited to national elections. The Granite State Teamsters have been busy in the last few weeks. I first received a flyer in my mail slot at work endorsing the Democrat candidate for Governor of New Hampshire. When I returned to work for the afternoon shift last Friday, I had to go through a reception line of union officers and a Democrat candidate the union was endorsing for Executive Council. Today, I received a ten-page flyer listing the union’s bi-partisan list of candidates they endorse for all open state seats. They labeled the list as bi-partisan, but though technically correct, it was far from such. The breakdown of the list:

402 Endorsements

7 Republicans

2 Independents

393 Democrats

That list includes 97.7% Democratic endorsements, which comes after the poll showing that 60% of Teamsters favor the Republican candidate for President, Donald Trump. The secondary consideration of the union’s activity is that it is financed with member dues. The union should confine its activities to negotiating contracts, settling grievances, and keeping officers’ wishes for candidates under wraps. Give the members credit and let them vote their conscience.