Teamsters Union Makes Surprise Donation to Republicans

International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien (L) and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman listen to Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting at the union's headquarters in Washington on Jan. 31, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A fund connected to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters made a rare donation to a Republican Party cause in January, according to federal filings.

On Feb. 20, the labor organization political action committee Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education (The PAC of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters), or DRIVE, reported it sent a $45,000 donation to the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) convention fund.

The union, according to filings with the FEC, also sent $45,000 to the equivalent Democratic Party organization in December 2023.

According to FEC filings for January, the union did not make any contributions directly to the RNC.

The Epoch Times reached out to the union but did not receive a response by press time.

The 2024 Republican National Convention is set to be held between July 15 and 18 in Milwaukee. Former President Donald Trump is favored to win his third presidential nomination from the party at the convention.

The 2024 Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 19 to 22. President Joe Biden will likely be the party’s nominee, setting up a rematch of the 2020 presidential election.

The Teamsters typically back Democratic party candidates. In fact, the January filing listed $55,000 in total donations to various Democrats running for Congress, Democratic party-aligned PACs, and state Democratic parties.

In 2023, DRIVE’s largest contribution went toward Paul Vallas, a Democrat, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Chicago. Mr. Vallas received $250,000.

Between 2021 and 2022, DRIVE sent $650,000 to the Democratic Party-aligned Senate Majority PAC and made $700,000 in donations to the Democratic Party-aligned House Majority PAC.

In 2020, it sent $1 million to Priorities USA Action Fund, a hybrid PAC, which spent most of its money either supporting President Biden or opposing President Trump.

The Teamsters call themselves America’s strongest union. According to its website, it counts 1.3 million members across the United States and Canada. The union made headlines in 2023 for successfully renegotiating a contract with shipping giant United Parcel Service Inc. for its about 340,000 members working at UPS.

Nationally, union membership—and, therefore, political influence—has declined for decades. According to a report published by the Department of Labor’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2023, only 10.1 percent of salary workers were members of a union in 2022. In 1983, 24.7 percent were in unions.

President Joe Biden addresses striking members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union at a picket line outside a General Motors service parts operations plant in Belleville, Mich., on Sept. 16, 2023. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Nevertheless, politicians continue to court union endorsements.

In January, President Trump met with Teamster leadership in what he said was an effort to secure the union’s support. At the time, Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said the union had a long way to go before endorsing any candidate.

At the time, The Epoch Times reported the Teamsters had already met with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and were planning on a similar sit-down with President Biden.

To date, the Teamsters haven’t endorsed any presidential candidate. However, the union did endorse former and soon-to-be Democratic New York congressman Tom Suozzi. Mr. Suozzi won a special election on Feb. 13 to replace ousted Republican congressman George Santos.

In January, the United Auto Workers formally endorsed President Biden. That union represents more than 400,000 members in the United States and Canada.

For its part, the UAW’s labor organization PAC—UAW Voluntary Community Action Program—usually supports Democrats, too. The union’s PAC sent a combined $610,000 to national Democratic party groups, the Democratic Governors Association, the Democratic National Committee, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2023.