Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien is set to speak at the Republican National Convention on Monday night.
A Teamsters post on X/Twitter showed O’Brien meeting with Massachusetts delegates at the RNC Monday morning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is scheduled to formally speak at the RNC at 8 p.m. EST Monday night.
“Wherever we can find common ground, our focus must always be on protecting American workers,” O’Brien told delegates, cited in a post by the Teamsters on X/Twitter. “If we’re going to accomplish big things for labor and truly hold employers across the country accountable to the workforce, we need as many people as possible moving in the same direction to get the job done.”
According to a report by Politico, O’Brien has requested speaking slots at both parties’ conventions. Some members aren’t happy about the union possibly endorsing former President Trump, with Teamsters Vice President At-Large John Palmer writing an opinion piece criticizing O’Brien for planning to speak at the RNC.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has yet to finalize its decision to back candidates Joe Biden or Donald Trump for the Oval Office this November. The union boasts the largest membership in the U.S. with 1.3 million members, and is seen as a powerful voting block.
No timeline has been announced for when a Teamsters endorsement will be made for either candidate. The union made its 2020 endorsement announcement of Biden for president in August that year.
“Rank-and-file Teamsters will dictate any possible endorsement from our union,” Teamsters spokesperson Kara Deniz told FreightWaves in an emailed statement. “Since the end of 2023, we have convened historic member roundtables with all Presidential candidates and have conducted unprecedented town halls at roughly 300 local unions across the country. We are getting our members’ input in a variety of ways and using that to inform whatever decision is made.”
Deniz said that O’Brien’s speech at the RNC Monday night is “truly unprecedented” as it will be the first time a Teamsters General President has addressed the RNC.
“Our 1.3 million members work in all 50 states, 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,” Deniz said.
Founded in 1903, the Teamsters have endorsed Democrat candidates Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama since 2008. However, in earlier elections, they have picked Republicans, and were the only major union to endorse former President George H.W. Bush in the 1988 U.S. presidential election.
“The Teamsters’ Presidential endorsement process this cycle is the most democratic, inclusive, and transparent it’s ever been in our 121-year history—to move this union forward and ensure our members’ voices come first,” Deniz said. “Our members’ votes will not be taken for granted.”
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