The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), a labor union representing over 300,000 firefighters and emergency responders in the US, announced on October 3 that it would not endorse any candidate in the upcoming presidential race. IAFF General President Edward Kelly stated in a statement posted on social media platform X that the union made this decision by a narrow margin of 1.2 percent, choosing not to endorse either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris. Kelly emphasized that the IAFF had taken unprecedented steps over the past year to gather its members’ views on candidates and policy issues. He further stated that the union will continue working to improve firefighters’ lives and families, believing that standing together as a union will enable them to advocate for their members more effectively.
The IAFF encouraged its members to participate in the upcoming election and make their voices heard. During the union’s annual convention in Boston, Massachusetts, both vice presidential candidates—Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz—had separate opportunities to present their visions for the fire service.
It is worth noting that Harris spoke at an IAFF legislative conference in Washington earlier this year before dropping out of the race herself. The IAFF was actually the first labor union to endorse Joe Biden’s campaign back in 2020; however, Harris received endorsements from other unions such as Auto Workers Union and AFL-CIO.
As for reactions to IAFF’s decision, Harris’s campaign has yet to comment on it while Trump’s campaign described it as another blow against her campaign following recent snubs from high-profile unions like International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Speaking of Teamsters, they also decided not to endorse any candidate last month due to neither major candidate making serious commitments regarding workers’ interests versus big business concerns.
This marks Teamsters’ first time since 1966 declining a presidential endorsement despite being one of America’s largest unions with approximately 1.3 million members across trucking industries.
Please note: Jacob Burg and Reuters contributed information for this report.
