The top of the Worldwide Brotherhood of Teamsters gave a stunning increase to former President Donald Trump’s election effort on Monday, calling the GOP nominee “one tough SOB” in a speech on the Republican Nationwide Conference in Milwaukee.
Teamsters Common President Sean O’Brien didn’t endorse Trump for the White Home however praised him as a politician “not afraid” to listen to from “new, loud, and often-critical voices.” He stated his union would fortunately work with a GOP administration if given the chance.
“I refuse to keep doing the same things my predecessors did,” O’Brien stated in a speech that at instances criticized each Democrats and Republicans. “Today the Teamsters are here to say we are not beholden to anyone or any party.”
It was an uncommon speech from a high-profile labor chief on the RNC.
Organized labor is a pillar of the Democratic Get together and an important ally in President Joe Biden’s reelection plans. Most main unions have denounced Trump resulting from his vehemently anti-union and anti-immigrant file within the White Home.
O’Brien had sought out the talking invitation, upsetting Teamster members who again Biden. However he has defended the transfer as a little bit of bipartisan political outreach. (O’Brien additionally dined with Trump — and posed for a thumbs-up picture with the previous president — again in January.)
He disregarded criticism from union members and different progressive allies in his tackle.
“I don’t care about getting criticized,” he stated. “It’s an honor to be the first Teamster in our 121-year history to address the Republican National Convention.”
The union has not but made an endorsement within the presidential race, although it formally backed Joe Biden in his first run in opposition to Trump in 2020.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS by way of Getty Photographs
O’Brien took over as Teamsters’ president in 2022, succeeding longtime president James P. Hoffa, the son of Jimmy Hoffa. He led the union by its high-profile negotiations with logistics large UPS final yr, and made headlines by practically coming to blows with a Republican senator throughout a listening to on Capitol Hill.
The overwhelming majority of Republicans vote in opposition to organized labor’s pursuits in relation to laws in Washington, whereas most Democrats vote in favor. As an example, it was Democrats who shepherded an $86 billion pension bailout by Congress in 2021 to assist the Teamsters and different unions, over the opposition of Republicans.
But O’Brien criticized each events in relation to serving to staff.
“There are far too many people on both sides of the aisle still caught up in knee-jerk reactions to unions, who subscribe to the same tired claptrap that unions destroy American companies,” he stated.
Trump, who was practically assassinated at a marketing campaign rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend, introduced final month that he’d prolonged a talking slot to O’Brien for the conference. The previous president appeared to relish the validation of a high-profile union chief, saying on Fact Social that he and O’Brien collectively may “Make America Great Again.”
It was in reference to the assassination try that O’Brien on Monday referred to as Trump “one tough SOB.”
But there’s been no indication that Trump, a lodge mogul who handled unions routinely in his companies, would break with the anti-union labor insurance policies of his first time period.
As president, Trump stacked the Nationwide Labor Relations Board with pro-business appointees who constantly dominated in opposition to unions and staff, making it tougher to prepare workplaces. He additionally repealed a slew of wage and security protections that labor teams had lobbied for, and tried to weaken collective bargaining for federal staff.
One high-ranking Teamster official has publicly criticized O’Brien for making the RNC look.
John Palmer, a union vp at-large, wrote in an opinion piece final week that the talking engagement “normalizes and makes the most anti-union party and President I’ve seen in my lifetime seem palatable.”
A number of different labor leaders have come out forcefully in opposition to Trump.
Shawn Fain, the president of the United Auto Staff, referred to as Trump a “scab” as he introduced his union’s endorsement of Biden for reelection. And on Monday, Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO labor federation, stated in a press release that Trump would proceed a “betrayal” of the working class if he have been to return to the White Home.
“Donald Trump has a miserable record of breaking every promise he’s made to working people,” Shuler stated.
