Teamsters president Sean O'Brien savages big business in RNC speech
By: Emily Peck , Sophia Cai (AXIOS)
Did you feel the earth move? That was the beginnings of a tectonic shift. Donald Trump, and only Donald Trump, could have made it happen.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Teamsters president Sean O'Brien delivered a fiery address to close out the first night of the Republican National Convention, castigating big businesses and corporate lobby groups for "waging a war against American workers" — and calling for labor law reform.
Why it matters: O'Brien's speech stood out among the partisan lineup because he did not endorse former President Trump , yet the Teamsters leader got the most speaking time of the evening.
The big picture: O'Brien's prominence at the RNC highlights just how important the labor vote is this November, particularly in pivotal swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
- The speech is the clearest sign of a potential realignment in political loyalties that has Democrats nervous.
Zoom in: While the Teamsters have endorsed Republican presidential candidates previously, a union president had never spoken at an RNC before.
- "It's an honor to be the first Teamster and our 121 year history to address The Republican National Convention," O'Brien said.
- He called for bipartisan action on labor reform. A stunning move at a partisan event — amid a party traditionally opposed to unions. He even called out the GOP for its opposition to labor.
You would be forgiven for mistaking O'Brien's speech as an address at a Democratic convention or in a union hall.
- "Labor law must be reformed. Americans vote for a union, but can never get a union contract," he said.
- "Companies fire workers who try to join unions and hide behind toothless laws that are meant to protect working people but are manipulated to benefit corporations. This is economic terrorism at its best, an individual cannot withstand such an assault."
Catch up fast: Nearly all of the other big unions, including the AFL-CIO, have officially endorsed Biden, a big labor supporter.
- O'Brien's faced some fierce criticism from inside the 1.3 million member organization for courting both parties — earlier this year donating $45,000 to both convention funds.
- He also requested a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention but it's not yet clear if he'll attend.
Between the lines: It's possible the Teamsters won't endorse either candidate, Reuters reported earlier on Monday.
- "There are some in the party who stand in active opposition to labor unions," O'Brien said.
- "This too must change, and I want to be clear at the end of the day, the Teamsters are not interested if you have a D, R or an I next to your name, we want to know one thing, what are you doing to help American workers?"
Teamsters vice president at large John Palmer wrote a scorching condemnation of O'Brien's decision last week, urging him not to speak and outlining a raft of ways former president Trump and the GOP were anti-union.
- "It is unconscionable for any Labor leader to lend an air of legitimacy to a candidate and a political party, neither of which can be said to have done, or can be expected to do, anything to improve the lives of the workers we are pledged to represent."
- Palmer, who's been rebuked by the union's general counsel for speaking to the media has said of the sharp-elbowed O'Brien, "There's not a more Trump-like figure in the labor movement."
Meanwhile, some conservatives weren't too pleased with O'Brien's speech. An anti-union group put up a billboards outside the convention calling O'Brien two-faced for engaging with Republicans.
- "One speaking engagement doesn't change the facts," Charlyce Bozzello, communications director at the Center for Union Facts said in a statement earlier this month.
- "Ninety-nine percent of the Teamsters' advocacy dollars go to left-wing causes and workers whose dues fund this partisan posturing aren't being fooled."
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Daniel in the lion's den, indeed.
Was a Trojan Horse used to get the enemy of big business, which the Republicans support rather than the workers, inside, providing a venue to publicly lash out at big business?