Teamsters President Sean O’Brien is set to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday night, but he is not yet scheduled to speak at the Democrat convention in August.
For years, O’Brien has aligned with the Democrat Party, as labor unions tend to support Democrat candidates and policies. But it sounds like the Teamsters president O’Brien is a fan of former President Trump’s vice presidential pick, J.D. Vance.
O’Brien told Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto:
J.D. Vance, in the short time that we have worked together, has been great on Teamster issues. He co-sponsored an airline manufacturing bill that addresses outsourcing critical airline maintenance to China. He’s also supported paid sick leave for our railroad workers. You remember that situation a couple of years ago when they weren’t getting sick time. He stepped right up; he’s also been very vocal and supportive of holding employers accountable, who try and skirt their obligation under an independent contract model known as DSP. So he’s been right there on all of our issues; we publicly stated it.
Look, this day and age, there is nothing better than having a U.S. Marine represented as a Vice President candidate.
WATCH:
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien: “J.D. Vance…he’s been great on Teamster issues…he’s been right there on all our issues.” pic.twitter.com/HkWyUNk62H
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) July 15, 2024
Vance will not only resonate with the Rust Belt states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, but if the Trump-Vance ticket attracts union voters from the Democrats, it will bolster their campaign.
O’Brien was asked whether he would endorse Trump for president prior to the VP announcement. He did not say who he will endorse yet, and indicated he will wait until after the RNC and DNC conventions:
We’ve got 1.3 million members. We have brought every presidential candidate into our building in front of our ranking file members and our general executive board. We asked them all the same questions about what’s important to us in labor, so we did that. We’re doing a straw poll at the convention. We have 331 local unions nationwide that represent 1.2 million members. We’ve never made an endorsement until after both conventions have been done, so that’s the process.
President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Sean O’Brien is asked if he will endorse Donald Trump for president.@massgop @TeamsterSOB pic.twitter.com/nDVO1ciBBH
— Emma Foley (@emmafoleymedia) July 15, 2024
A spokesperson for O’Brien, Kara Deniz, said this about O’Brien speaking at the RNC:
This is truly unprecedented since it will be the very first time a Teamsters General President has addressed the RNC. Our 1.3 million members represent every political background, and their message needs to be heard by as wide an audience as possible, and that includes all political candidates running for elected office. We appreciate former President Trump’s openness to inviting a labor leader to speak on behalf of working families.
The calls for President Biden to step aside seem to have cooled off. As of now, we will see at least one more debate between him and Trump; and we are hoping to see a debate between VP Harris and Vance.
