The International Association of Fire Fighters on Thursday said it will not make an endorsement for president this year, the second major union to do so.
Although the IAFF supported President Joe Biden in 2020, the union declined to support Vice President Kamala Harris, after the IAFF Executive Board voted by a 1.2 percentage point margin not to endorse her or former President Donald Trump.
The union’s announcement on Thursday comes shortly after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said it would not endorse any candidate.
"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," the union’s president, Edward Kelly, said in a statement.
"As we have over our 106-year history, the IAFF will continue its work to improve the lives of fire fighters and their families,” the statement continued. “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."