At United Steelworkers conference, members and leaders downplay electoral divide By Reuters

By Erwin Seba and Nicole Jao

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) – At a meeting of United Steelworkers union officials this week, presidential politics was off the agenda, a departure from last election year’s gatherings and a sign of the divide between USW members and union bosses over candidates.

The leadership of the USW — a union of 1.2 million American and Canadian steel, paper and energy workers, as well as government workers — endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in July, giving her an early victory just one day after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race against Republican Donald Trump.

But USW officials did not mention Harris by name or ask the 300 local officials at a national oil bargaining conference to recommend that members campaign or vote for her. Still, attendees saw presentations about legislative proposals the union is pursuing in Congress and with the Biden administration.

The omission underscores tensions in union ranks ahead of the Nov. 5 election, a race that polls show is essentially tied — leaving the outcome dependent on how union workers and others in battleground states vote. Union workers have traditionally been a key part of the Democratic base, but the dynamic has shifted in recent election cycles as Trump erodes support from white working-class voters.

Most of the oil workers come from states like Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and California, which are not expected to be decisive in determining the outcome of the election.

Other major unions, such as the United Auto Workers, also supported the Harris campaign. But the powerful Teamsters union dealt a blow to his campaign on Wednesday, choosing not to endorse either presidential candidate.

The 1.3 million-member transportation workers union last failed to endorse a Democrat, President Bill Clinton, in 1996. The Teamsters have released two polls of their rank-and-file members showing they prefer Trump than Harris.

Trump used the results of the Teamsters poll to declare that he had won the overall approval of the Teamsters.

The Harris campaign declined to comment. Her campaign previously said Harris would fight for union workers and, if elected, work with Congress to pass legislation that would make it easier to organize and “end union busting once and for all.”

The oil negotiating conference, just six weeks before the election, was also different from previous conferences, which featured dozens of members wearing red pro-Trump MAGA baseball caps. Attendees in Pittsburgh kept tight-lipped about the presidential election, discussing it only when asked by Reuters reporters.

“I would say 80 percent to 90 percent of USW oil workers are going to vote for Trump,” said a Texas union leader, who asked not to be identified by name to preserve union relations. However, he said that “out of the entire USW, the majority will vote for Harris.”

BEING LEFT BEHIND

The decision to avoid discussing the election, according to a regional official, was designed to prevent a public split between USW national and local officials in its oil negotiating group.

USW President David McCall said in an interview with Reuters that he wanted to keep members of the oil negotiating group focused on topics related to the 2026 labor contracts and did not support an election or call for a vote separately on the candidates.

“I wanted to focus on the oil industry itself, just generally about community and solidarity, that’s the role I play,” McCall said.

National leadership’s endorsement of Harris in July reflected her campaign’s responses to union questionnaires sent to both presidential candidates.

“(The Harris-Walz campaign) has given us the knowledge that it’s in line with our priorities as a union, and we just don’t have any other information to compare it to unless we hear back from the other.” said Mike Smith, president of USW’s National Petroleum Negotiation Program.

Interviews with local oil officials at the conference anecdotally revealed a strong preference for former President Trump, with many saying the Democrats’ priorities don’t align with their own.

“They believe the Democratic Party has left them behind, from promoting electric vehicles, which limits oil demand, to passing a new, stricter fuel standard, which increases the cost of fuel,” said a Texas union member who he asked not to be identified by name.

A Louisiana union member who attended the conference said he was voting for Trump because he is the Republican nominee, who he said would protect his economic interests.

“It’s not pro-Trump,” said the man, who asked not to be identified. “It’s in my best interest. I want to keep my money.”

A third official said the absence of open political boundaries or campaign buttons was intentional.

“A lot of people here are voting for Trump, but they just don’t want to talk about it,” the union member told Reuters.