“The old story about a snake — nursing it to health and then it bites you?” Teamsters union International Vice President at Large John Palmer told CNN, “You knew it was a snake when you handled it…Donald Trump is what he is.” Trump, Palmer pointed out, has been “anti-union for decades.”
[NOTE: Palmer is one of seven VPs at Large in the Teamsters leadership org chart.]
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is being courted by both Trump and President Joe Biden for its endorsement, and the union is playing harder to get than Palmer and some others think is smart.
PRESIDENT BIDEN ATTENDS TEAMSTERS RANK-AND-FILE ROUNDTABLE⁰President Joe Biden met with rank-and-file Teamsters from across the country on Tuesday, including the Teamsters General President, General Secretary-Treasurer, and General Executive Board.⁰⁰At the union’s headquarters… pic.twitter.com/PbKDoLI44V
— Teamsters (@Teamsters) March 12, 2024
Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien has said he is mindful that a segment of his membership likes Trump and so the union needs to show it has ears on both sides. O’Brien wants to communicate “that all our members’ voices are heard and our elected officials do not take for granted the power of the Teamsters vote.”
“I think we’re wasting our time,” Palmer said, referring to the withholding, so far, of an endorsement.
Teamsters Vice President on Trump trying to trick union workers: You know the old story about a snake, nursing it to health and then it bites you. You knew it was a snake when you handled it. Donald Trump is what he is. He’s been anti-union for decades. We’re wasting our time pic.twitter.com/a7ykPWrtGD
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) March 13, 2024
Democrats have long been considered the pro-union party in America with Republicans leaning into “right to work” legislation, which prevents workers from being forced to join a union or pay union fees as a requirement of employment. (Right-to-work is the law in at least 28 states.)
Biden has secured the endorsement of the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers, whose picket line he joined last summer. In a competing event at the time, Trump booked a non-union workshop to give a speech appealing to the UAW for an endorsement, while saying that the worker strike was counterproductive in the face of imminent EV challenges.