SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

TEAMSTERS LOCAL 710 EXECUTIVE BOARD ENDORSES HARRIS/WALZ

MOKENA, IL | Your Teamsters Local 710 Executive Board’s focus has been on ensuring that we organize, negotiate, and enforce the best contracts for our membership that protect your rights in the workplace and the livelihood of your families. It is critical that we support policies and representatives who embody and support the same values that we secure at the bargaining table and continue to bring our country forward, not pull us backward. We were entrusted to watch over our great local, and labor has been and will always be first on our agenda.

With that, your Local 710 Executive Board joins together with Joint Council 25 and many other Locals and Joint Councils across the country to hereby endorse Kamala Harris for President and Tim Walz for Vice President in this election.

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz have a proven track record that stands alongside the working class. Harris chairs the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment and has made it easier for workers to organize. She was one of the original co-sponsors of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. She also cast the tie-breaking vote that passed the Butch Lewis Act, which saved hundreds of thousands of pensions across the country. Walz has championed a wide range of pro-worker policies in his home state of Minnesota, including banning captive audience meetings, mandating paid sick days and medical leave, and strengthening protections for workers. He is also a Union member himself, having worked as a high school teacher. They both walk – not cross – picket lines. They’ve spoken out against “right to work” (for less) laws.

We understand and respect that many of our Local 710 Brothers and Sisters support former President Donald Trump, and that for many families, there is more on the table besides labor issues. That being said, it is our duty as leaders of our great Local to educate and act in the best interests of our membership on labor issues.

This election has proven to be one of the most contentious in recent history. We have seen intense passion on both sides of the aisle. Many campaign tactics have been aimed to divide us all, spreading negativity, misinformation, and fear like poison. Our hope is that once the votes have been tallied, we can come back together as one to stand side by side and force our representatives to hear our voices loud and clear.

Just as we encourage all of our more than 13,500 members across Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa to cast your vote for your collective bargaining agreements by following your conscience on what will best support you and your families in your workplace, we implore each and every one of you to vote in this upcoming election. Do your research, ask tough questions, and make an informed decision in the voting booth.