Why are the Teamsters Endorsing Greg Abbott? |
CounterPunch Exclusives
CounterPunch Exclusives
Why are the Teamsters Endorsing Greg Abbott?
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is running for reelection. He has a campaign war chest of over $105 million, and he’ll probably be reelected, unless the increasing unpopularity of Donald Trump takes him down. The Abbott campaign, however, is confident of victory, and that they will roll over their Democratic opponent state Rep. Gina Hinojosa. Kim Snyder, Abbott’s campaign manager, boasted last month, with a dash of red-baiting:
“The outpouring of support from across the state sends a powerful message about the values Texans expect our governor to defend. As socialists win elections elsewhere, Texans are stepping up to support Governor Abbott because he protects our way of life.”
“The outpouring of support from across the state sends a powerful message about the values Texans expect our governor to defend. As socialists win elections elsewhere, Texans are stepping up to support Governor Abbott because he protects our way of life.”
Let’s be clear about Abbott: He has no redeeming qualities nor does he support policies that benefit working-class people. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. He has a wide-ranging anti-working class political agenda. He enthusiastically supports Texas’ near ban on abortion or the so-called “Heart Beat Bill.” He supports school privatization and the death penalty. All of these issues are near-and-dear to the Christian Nationalist Right in Texas and the myriad of police and sheriff’s associations that support his reelection campaign.
Abbott has played an important role in bolstering the mainstream Christian Right in the Republican Party and the more shadowy fascist paramilitary right in Texas, most notably pardoning the convicted fascist murderer Daniel Perry in May 2024. Perry murdered Air Force veteran Garrett Foster at Black Lives Matter demonstration in May 2020 in Austin, Texas. Whitney Mitchell, Foster’s longtime partner responded to Abbott’s pardon of Perry:
“Daniel Perry texted his friends about plans to murder a protester he disagreed with. After a lengthy trial, with an abundance of evidence, 12 impartial Texans determined that he carried out that plan, and murdered my Garrett. With this pardon, the Governor has desecrated the life of a murdered Texan and US Air Force veteran, and impugned that jury’s just verdict. He has declared that Texans who hold political views that are different from his — and different from those in power — can be killed in this State with impunity.”
“Daniel Perry texted his friends about plans to murder a protester he disagreed with. After a lengthy trial, with an abundance of evidence, 12 impartial Texans determined that he carried out that plan, and murdered my Garrett. With this pardon, the Governor has desecrated the life of a murdered Texan and US Air Force veteran, and impugned that jury’s just verdict. He has declared that Texans who hold political views that are different from his — and different from those in power — can be killed in this State with impunity.”
With such a horrendous political record, why are the Teamsters and a handful of other unions endorsing him reelection?
“Teamsters vs. Everybody”
The Teamsters official Facebook posted on February 5th:
Teamsters Joint Council 58 and Joint Council 80, which represent 40,000 rank-and-file Teamsters across Texas, have jointly endorsed Greg Abbott (R-TX) in his re-election for governor. “Governor Abbott has kept an open door to the Teamsters Union during his tenure and has been willing and eager to partner with us on job creation and workplace protections,” said Brent Taylor, Secretary-Treasurer of Joint Council 80 and International Vice President for the Southern Region. “As our union has shown on a national level, the Teamsters care less about political affiliation and more about protecting good-paying union jobs. Texas Teamsters are proud to support candidates that support the American worker — and in this race, that candidate in Governor Abbott.”
Teamsters Joint Council 58 and Joint Council 80, which represent 40,000 rank-and-file Teamsters across Texas, have jointly endorsed Greg Abbott (R-TX) in his re-election for governor.
“Governor Abbott has kept an open door to the Teamsters Union during his tenure and has been willing and eager to partner with us on job creation and workplace protections,” said Brent Taylor, Secretary-Treasurer of Joint Council 80 and International Vice President for the Southern Region. “As our union has shown on a national level, the Teamsters care less about political affiliation and more about protecting good-paying union jobs. Texas Teamsters are proud to support candidates that support the American worker — and in this race, that candidate in Governor Abbott.”
At a February 4th news conference in Houston, Taylor told the assembled media,........