Trump invited Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to the RNC. His speech was as bold as Trump is. Among those in the crowd were Trump and his new running mate J.D. Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Byron Daniels of FL and Tucker Carlson. O’Brien praised Trump’s strength following the assassination attempt and that he may or may not be invited to the DNC after speaking here.
The RNC is open to all
O’Brien started with thanking Trump for the invitation. “It’s an honor to be the first Teamster in our 121-year history to address the Republican National Convention. I want to thank President Donald Trump for opening the RNC’s doors to the Teamsters Union and inviting me to speak.”
He noted “heads exploded” on both sides over the invitation. “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.”
Trump isn’t afraid of criticism. O’Brien continued,
“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.”
Trump triumphant at the RNC
O’Brien admitted Trump is tough. “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.”
The Teamsters also may or may not endorse Trump. Members are providing input on that.
O’Brien was disgusted with the United States Chamber of Commerce. It’s been a huge opponent to the Trump economic agenda and is all but waging war on American workers.
The RNC can correct things
O’Brien thought that,
“We need to call the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtables what they are: They are unions for big business. 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.”
He mentioned UPS which has been unionized for over 100 years. “More than 350,000 Teamsters make it run. We work for good middle-class wages, quality health care, and secure pensions. There are work rules that ensure fairness and due process for both sides. UPS is the most efficient package delivery company in the world.”
He encouraged Trump to back economic reforms.
“We need meaningful bankruptcy reform. 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. This is economic terrorism. An individual cannot withstand the assault … there are no consequences for the company, only the worker.”
