Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien delivered a historic address to the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Monday evening after being invited by former President Donald Trump.
“It’s an honor to be the first Teamster in our 121-year history to address the Republican National Convention,” O’Brien told the RNC crowd, which included Trump and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), and Tucker Carlson.
“I want to thank President Donald Trump for opening the RNC’s doors to the Teamsters Union and inviting me to speak,” O’Brien said, noting that “heads exploded” on the Right and Left when he was invited to speak at the convention.
“Anti-union groups demanded the President rescind his invitation. The Left called me a traitor. This is precisely why it is so important for me to be here today,” O’Brien said:
President Trump had the backbone to open the doors to this Republican convention, and that’s unprecedented. No other nominee in the race would’ve invited the Teamsters into this arena. Now you can have whatever opinion you want, but one thing is clear: President Trump is a candidate who is not afraid of hearing from new, loud, and often critical voices. [Emphasis added]
Most significantly, O’Brien hailed Trump’s strength following the assassination attempt on him at a rally in western Pennsylvania.
“I think we all can agree, whether people like him or they don’t like him, in light of what happened to him on Saturday, he has proven to be one tough S.O.B.,” O’Brien said.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, during his RNC speech, says “one thing is clear” about Donald Trump:
“I think we all can agree, whether people like him or they don’t like him, in light of what happened to him on Saturday, he has proven to be one tough SOB.” pic.twitter.com/pSCfvEbr4a
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 16, 2024
In terms of an official endorsement, O’Brien said after his speech that the union is getting input from its members and left the door open until after the Democrat National Convention (DNC). O’Brien revealed that, at this time, he has not been invited to speak at the DNC.
Notably, O’Brien trashed the United States Chamber of Commerce — a fierce opponent of Trump’s economic nationalist agenda — for what he said has been a war on American workers.
“We need to call the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtables what they are: They are unions for big business,” O’Brien said:
Here’s the fact: Against these gigantic multinational corporations, an individual has zero power. It is only when Americans band together in democratic unions that we win real improvements on wages, benefits, and working conditions. [Emphasis added]
O’Brien pointed to the United Parcel Service (UPS), which is the largest private second logistics company in the world and has been unionized for more than 100 years.
“More than 350,000 Teamsters make it run. We work for good middle-class wages, quality health care, and secure pensions,” O’Brien said. “There are work rules that ensure fairness and due process for both sides. UPS is the most efficient package delivery company in the world.”
O’Brien called on Republicans to get behind a swath of economic reforms.
“We need meaningful bankruptcy reform,” O’Brien said. “Today, corporate vultures buy up companies like Yellow Freight with the intent of driving them into bankruptcy and feasting on their remains. The courts leave workers begging for crumbs as third-tier creditors.”
“Labor law must be reformed. Americans vote for a union but can never get a union contract. 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,” O’Brien continued. “This is economic terrorism. An individual cannot withstand the assault … there are no consequences for the company, only the worker.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.