By Ray Cardello for December 26, 2024, Season 30 / Post 39

I have to preface this article by disclosing I have never been a fan of labor unions, having been in management or ownership my entire career. Still, because I drive a school bus in my retirement, I have been a Teamster for five years. I recently watched Tucker Carlson interview Teamsters National President Sean O’Brien, and as I have with John Fetterman, I have a renewed impression of O’Brien and the Teamsters. I had based my opinion on perceptions and incomplete information. Because of the impressive job O’Brien did explaining the modern role of the Teamsters and its relationship to Washington, I have a newfound respect for the body.

O’Brien explained in detail the generational impact the Union has and used his own family as an example. He is a fourth-generation member. His Great-grandfather joined the union when he arrived from Ireland and drove a horse and buggy for his delivery mode. Sean joined the union as an eighteen-year-old, as did his two brothers. He was the youngest President of Local 25 in Boston at 33 before he went on to become the National President.

He told a funny story about his address at the RNC. It was the first time a union president addressed the Republican Party and anyone addressed the body without an endorsement. With 1.4 million members from every demographic, he doesn’t feel the Union should support a candidate. When he submitted his speech, Trump’s staff wanted changes and an endorsement, but O’Brien threatened to stay away rather than make the changes. He spoke with Trump directly, and the candidate told him, in very colorful terms, to do and say what he wanted. The Democrats miscalculated and assumed they owned the union’s support. They never approached O’Brien to attend the DNC, and for the first time, the Teamsters were not involved in the Democrat Convention.

O’Brien told of two interactions with Democrats. One was a short time after Chuck Schumer reached out to Sean for $500 thousand dollars for the Democrat Party, which he received. He was at a function at the Teamsters Headquarters when he confronted O’Brien, pointed his finger at him, and told him the Union “better get on board.” That was not received well. The second was with Kamala Harris shortly after she became the candidate. After being informed that the Union was not endorsing her, she, too, pointed a finger and uttered, “I will win with you or without you.” Once again, Kamala was wrong.

To explain the current relevance of the Union, he talked about the battle with Amazon. Amazon is a huge company and employer, but unfortunately, it pays its employees below industry wages, offers a poor benefits package, does not offer a pension plan, and has an astronomical turnover rate. The Teamsters have a long-term strategy to change those parameters for Amazon workers, many of whom have to live on the government dole because of their low wages.

The Teamsters are also equipped to protect workers in the new AI era, vowing to protect jobs as companies move towards automation. From horse and buggy to AI, the Teamsters have evolved to stay in touch with the needs of the millions of members they battle for daily. I spent 50 years guarding against the unions, but I am not too old to be corrected, and Sean O’Brien did that in a one-hour lesson with Tucker Carlson.