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Teamsters president said address to GOP convention was to highlight workers, not to endorse Republicans

by Miranda Nazzaro - 09/01/24 3:09 PM ET

International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien pushed back on the suggestion he spoke at the Republican National Convention in July to endorse Republicans, maintaining he was there to “highlight” the importance of American workers.

When asked on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” if he spoke at the convention because he feels former President Trump has been more pro-labor than any other GOP candidates, O’Brien said, “No, not at all.”

“I spoke there because it was the ability to highlight how important we are. It was the ability to call out the people, the corporate elitist who forget who built this country, the American workers,” O’Brien continued. “You know, people like to, you know, have their own opinions on why we were there, but I was there to talk about the American workers.”

O’Brien said it was not “an endorsement for any and all Republicans” but “strictly a message” about the importance and value of workers.

O’Brien was the first Teamsters president to ever speak at the GOP convention, during which he slammed “elites” whose only “loyalty is to the balance sheet.”

He also challenged the notion that unions should fall in line with Democratic endorsements, saying “we have an obligation to do our due diligence” and “not just automatically support one side.”

O’Brien, in an unprecedented move, requested to speak at the Republican and Democratic conventions, but he ultimately was not given one at the latter.

O’Brien said the Democratic convention did not tell him why he was not allotted a slot at last month’s event.

“And look, I’m going to say this, whatever the critics out there, and they’re very few, in the leadership. Whenever I get an opportunity to highlight the American worker, especially the Teamster worker, I’m going to take any and all venue,” O’Brien said.

“We asked both conventions, respectively, at the same time, and the Republican National Convention immediately responded to us,” he added. “[It] didn’t try and edit any of our messages, and I was hopeful that the Democrats would do the same, but they didn’t. I’m not upset about it, but I can tell you this, my rank and file members, who have been lifelong Democrats, are not happy about it.”

Teamsters notably has not yet endorsed a presidential candidate this cycle, breaking rank with a number of other large unions that have endorsed the Democratic ticket.

The Teamsters head maintained the union is awaiting on Vice President Harris to appear for a roundtable with members. The Harris campaign accepted the union’s invitation, though a date has not been announced.

“I think historically, the teamsters have always endorsed after both respective conventions,” he said. “This is a little different. This time, under our leadership, we brought every single candidate to the table in front of our rank-and-file members and our general executive board, and we’re waiting on Vice President Harris to commit to come meet with us.”

The Teamsters, one of the country’s largest unions, endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020. When asked if there are concerns Harris will be less pro-labor or pro-union than President Biden, O’Brien said the Teamsters are “different than most unions.”

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“We represent 1.3 million members. Half of our members are Republicans; half of our members are Democrats. So we have to serve all of our membership equally,” he said. “Look, everybody has a different style of leadership. We want the opportunity to sit down with Vice President Harris. I mean, I said to someone the other day, you don’t hire someone unless you give them an interview.”

When pressed over if there is a chance the Teamsters could not endorse anyone like it did in 1996, O’Brien reiterated the union is looking to ensure they are endorsing the best candidate for labor.

“1996 was a long time ago,” he said. “It’s all going to be driven by our rank-and-file members and our leadership. We’re a very, very Democratic union,” he said.