IAFF under fire for not supporting female presidential candidates

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is under fire after refusing to endorse a candidate in this year’s presidential elections.

The union, which represents more than 350,000 full-time firefighters and emergency workers, announced Thursday that the group’s board of directors voted by a 1.2% majority not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump. This is only the second time since 1960 that the group has refused to support the Democratic presidential candidate, and the only such case occurred in 2016, when Hillary Clinton was on the ballot.

“The IAFF Board has recognized that we will be better able to support our members and make progress on the issues that are important to them if we stand shoulder to shoulder as a union,” General President Edward Kelly said in a statement. “This decision, which we took very seriously, is the best way to preserve and strengthen our unity.”

The announcement was a major blow to Harris, who suffered another union defeat two weeks ago after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters made a similar decision. But it is also a significant defeat for the presidential candidate.

IAFF, which was the first union to endorse Joe Biden in 2020, has backed every Democratic candidate since 1960 except Harris and Clinton, the only two women to ever top the rankings of a major political party.

“It is not at all a surprise – although still disappointing – that (IAFF) will not endorse the candidate who is most pro-union and pro-worker – and this is indeed likely because Kamala Harris is a woman,” said Katherine Spillar, director of the Feminist Majority Foundation, a group supportive woman Newsweek.

According to statistics from the 2020 Profile of the U.S. Fire Service, firefighting remains one of the most male-dominated professions in the country, with women making up just 9 percent of all firefighters in the country.

Data from Women in Fire, an organization that works to support women’s leadership and participation in fire and emergency services, also shows that more than 80 percent of the roughly 90,000 firefighters in the U.S. work as volunteers. Of the more than 22,000 fire chiefs in the country, only 6 percent are women.

Spillar, which called the industry “one of the most hostile to women who try or succeed in joining its ranks,” said it was “no coincidence that only in presidential races where women have been in the lead The firefighters’ union did not support it.

– said Christian F. Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women Newsweek that while the group does not know what influenced the IAFF’s decision, it was “disappointing” that the union has never endorsed a woman presidential candidate.

“Women who have achieved the presidential nomination have already achieved extraordinary levels of leadership in their careers,” Nunes said. “We hope that IAFF support will change in future presidential races.”

Newsweek reached out to the IAFF, the Harris campaign and Clinton for comment via email.

Last month, Teamsters, which represents more than 1.3 million workers, also rejected both presidential candidates, making Harris the first Democrat in more than two decades not to secure the union’s endorsement.

“Unfortunately, neither major candidate has been able to make a serious commitment to our union to ensure that the interests of working people are always put before big business,” Teamsters president Sean O’Brien said in September.

Harris won the support of every other major labor union, including the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers, which collectively represent millions of workers.

Although she did not secure the IAFF’s endorsement, the union representing Minnesota firefighters broke with the larger union’s decision on Thursday, endorsing Harris in light of the IAFF’s lack of endorsement.

“This endorsement is not just about politics,” Minnesota Professional Firefighters President Scott Vadnais told CBS News. “This is about protecting the well-being of society and ensuring our members are recognized and supported in the essential work we do. We are confident that the Harris-Walz team will prioritize the safety of Minnesota communities and continue to advocate for the needs of first responders.”

The local union represents over 2,000 firefighters, paramedics and dispatchers. His endorsement follows a similar move made by the Midwestern Teamsters last month. Several local Teamster unions have broken ranks with their national unions to support Harris and Walz, calling them “proven champions of union workers.”