{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://onder.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-bob-onder-introduces-endorsement-transparency-act", "Congressman Bob Onder Introduces the Endorsement Transparency Act", "2025-11-19", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Robert F. Onder, Jr.", "O000177", "onder.house.gov", "onder", "https://onder.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Contact: Brooke Morgan\n\n(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 Today, Congressman Bob Onder (MO-03) introduced the Endorsement Transparency Act, which bans labor unions from endorsing a presidential candidate unless the union polls its members. The Endorsement Transparency Act ensures that union leaders can\u2019t make unilateral endorsement decisions that counter the will of their members.\n\n\u201cThe Endorsement Transparency Act is an important first step towards restoring accountability amongst union leaders\u201d, said Congressman Bob Onder.\n\n\u201cIn the 2024 presidential election, the Teamsters withheld an endorsement for either candidate after internal polling showed that 60 percent of their members supported President Trump over Vice President Harris. At the same time, the United Auto Workers endorsed Vice President Harris despite a significant portion of their rank-and-file backing President Trump.\n\n\u201cThis is unacceptable. Labor unions exist to serve their members, not to serve the political interests of their leadership.\n\n\u201cThis is part of a broader pattern within today\u2019s Democrat Party - leadership that is more focused on advancing political agendas and personal interest over the well-being of the people they claim to represent.\u201d\n\n-30-\n\nLink to the full text of the bill: Endorsement Transparency Act_ONDER.pdf\n\nBackground Information\n\nThe International Brotherhood of Teamsters has long been aligned with Democrat candidates, endorsing figures such as Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. Sean O\u2019Brien was elected General President of the 1.3-million-member union in November 2021, ushering in a new chapter of leadership marked by both internal debate and heightened national attention.\n\nIn the 2024 presidential cycle, the union broke from decades of precedent by declining to endorse either major party candidate. Internal polling released by the Teamsters showed overwhelming rank-and-file support for former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris. An electronic survey recorded Trump leading 59.6% to 34%, while a phone poll showed a similar margin of 58% to 31%.\n\nO\u2019Brien characterized the union\u2019s endorsement review as \u201cthe most inclusive, democratic, and transparent Presidential endorsement process in the history of our 121-year-old organization,\u201d emphasizing that any decision would be guided by the membership. Ultimately, the union chose not to issue an endorsement, while openly acknowledging the strong pro-Trump sentiment among its members.\n\nDuring this same period, O\u2019Brien alleged that Vice President Harris personally pressured the union for an endorsement, recounting a tense meeting in which she urged the Teamsters to \u201cget on board.\u201d", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://onder.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-bob-onder-introduces-endorsement-transparency-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4671459794044495, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}