Despite endorsing the Biden-Harris ticked in 2020, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) representing 350,000 fire fighters across the United States and Canada (and 85% of all fire fighters), made the decision to withhold their endorsement from the Democratic candidate this election cycle.
The Daily Caller reports:
IAFF has previously advocated for Democratic candidates and supported President Joe Biden early in 2020 but has shifted its stance by choosing not to endorse any candidate in the upcoming presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Edward Kelly, president of the IAFF, cited a narrow 1.2-point vote margin by the union’s executive board as the reason for not endorsing a candidate.
In a statement shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), Kelly wrote, “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. As we have over our 106-year history, the IAFF will continue its work to improve the lives of fire fighters and their families. 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 Daily Caller continues:
IAFF contributed approximately $1.5 million to federal candidates in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, directing over 80% of those funds to Democrats, according to Open Secrets. In 2020, the IAFF’s Political Action Committee (PAC) endorsed Biden early in the race, donating $5,000 directly to his campaign and approximately $300,000 in independent expenditures, including a “Fire Fighters for Biden” initiative.
This isn’t the first big union to withhold endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket. Weeks ago, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, described as the largest and most diverse union in the country, decided to break with tradition, and refused to endorse Harris.
The Daily Caller explains:
The announcement follows a similar stance taken by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, as the union also withheld their endorsement in the 2024 presidential race on Sept. 18, despite internal polls revealing a significant preference for Trump among its members. While 59.6% of the surveyed members backed Trump, only 31% supported Harris, leading the union to declare that neither candidate garnered sufficient consensus to warrant an endorsement.
It remains unclear whether union members are moving towards Trump based on a lack of satisfaction with how the Biden-Harris administration interacted with their unions, or if it’s one manifestation of a more widespread dissatisfaction with the rising cost of living that hits blue collar workers like firefighters, truck drivers, and warehouse workers represented by these unions especially hard.
