The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) announced Thursday it would not endorse a candidate in this year’s presidential race, becoming the second major union to do so in recent weeks.
The IAFF executive board, which was an early backer of President Biden’s 2020 candidacy, said in a statement that its membership voted by a margin of 1.2 percentage points not to endorse a candidate in the race between Vice President Harris and former President Trump.
“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,” union President Edward Kelly said of the decision.
“As we have over our 106-year history, the IAFF will continue its work to improve the lives of fire fighters and their families,” Kelly added. “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 union announced in April 2019, with the Democratic primary still in its early stages, that it was supporting Biden’s White House bid. The president spoke at the union’s 2023 legislative conference, where he told the firefighters in attendance, “I have your back.”
The IAFF’s decision not to endorse comes after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the nation’s largest unions, announced it would not endorse a candidate in the White House race this year.
While Teamsters leadership said they weren’t backing a candidate between Trump and Harris, numerous local Teamsters chapters quickly came out in support for the vice president.
Harris has earned the support of several other major organized labor groups since she replaced Biden atop the Democratic ticket, including the United Auto Workers. Harris has signaled she will carry on with many of the same labor policies as Biden, who has often touted himself as the most pro-union president in history.