Morry Gash/AP
On Monday night, after the triumphant entrance of former president and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, Teamsters Union general president Sean O’Brien addressed the Republican National Convention.
“I refuse to keep doing the same things my predecessors did,” O’Brien said. “Today, the Teamsters are here to say: ‘We are not beholden to anyone or any party.’”
As president of the 1.3 million member union, O’Brien has proved to be willing to work with Republicans even as the rest of the labor movement has rallied around Democrats. While the AFL-CIO, NEA, and UAW endorsed President Joe Biden’s reelection bid, O’Brien met privately with Trump and donated $45,000 to the Republican National Committee’s convention fund. (According to the Washington Post, it was the Teamsters’ first major donation to the GOP in years, though they also donated $135,000 to the Democratic National Convention last December.) O’Brien’s appearance at the RNC further signaled his willingness to break from recent Teamsters history—the union supported Trump’s opponents in 2016 and 2020.
But, on an economy-themed night at the convention, O’Brien did not endorse Trump and it’s unlikely his union ever will. O’Brien did........