President Biden meets with Teamsters as he seeks to bolster his support among labor unions

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden courted the support of the powerful International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Tuesday, reminding its leaders and members of his record on unions as likely Republican challenger Donald Trump tries to make gains among the blue-collar workers that helped propel his 2016 victory.

Biden met with the Teamsters at its headquarters and emphasized the administration’s support of unions and his longtime support for the labor movement. Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said after the meeting that Biden has been “great” for workers but stressed that “there’s still a lot of work to be done” to bolster unions.

“There’s always a threat to organized labor, so we want to be proactive and make certain every candidate — not just President Biden — understands how important our issues are,” O’Brien told reporters after meeting with the president.

Biden and the Teamsters discussed topics such as the Butch Lewis Act — a measure Biden signed into law that shored up pensions for scores of workers — Social Security and Medicare, while the president vowed to continue to “hold corporations accountable, because every worker deserves respect, and billionaire executives shouldn’t pay a lower tax rate than truck drivers or warehouse workers,” said Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt.

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