Sean O'Brien, president of the International Federation of Trucking Associations, denied that he spoke in support of the Republican Party at the Republican National Convention in July, insisting he was there to “highlight” the importance of American workers.
Asked on CBS News' “Face the Nation” if he spoke at the convention because he felt former President Trump was more pro-worker than the other Republican candidates, O'Brien replied: “No, not at all.”
“I was there to speak about how important we are, to call out the corporate elites who forget that it's the American worker who built this country,” O'Brien continued. “You know, people want to have their own ideas about why we were there, but I was there to talk about the American worker.”
O'Brien said this was not an endorsement of all Republicans but a “genuine message” about the importance and value of workers.
O'Brien was the first Teamsters president to speak at a Republican convention, and in his speech he railed against “elites” whose “loyalty is only to the balance sheet.”
He also disagreed with the idea that unions should follow the Democratic Party's lead, saying “we have an obligation to do our due diligence” and “we shouldn't automatically side with one side.”
In an unprecedented move, O'Brien requested to speak at both the Republican and Democratic conventions, but was ultimately not allowed to speak at the latter.
O'Brien said the Democratic National Convention did not explain why he was not assigned to last month's event.
“And despite our critics within our leadership, I will say this: Any opportunity we have to shine a spotlight on American workers, and particularly Teamster workers, we will take advantage of it,” O'Brien said.
“We made simultaneous requests to both party conventions, and the Republican National Convention responded immediately,” he added.[It] “The Democrats made no attempt to edit our message, and I expected them to do the same, but they didn't. I'm not upset about that, but I can tell you that my rank-and-file members, who have been Democrats their whole lives, are not happy about that.”
The Teamsters are notable for not endorsing a candidate in this presidential election, unlike many other large labor unions that have backed Democratic candidates.
A Teamsters representative said the union is waiting for Vice President Harris to attend a roundtable with union members. Her campaign has accepted the union's invitation, but a date has yet to be announced.
“Historically, I think the Teamsters have always made an endorsement after each convention,” he said. “This time is a little bit different. This time, under our leadership, we're putting all the candidates in front of our membership and executive committee and waiting for Vice President Harris to make an appointment to meet with us.”
The Teamsters, the nation's largest labor union, endorsed Biden-Harris in 2020. Asked if there were concerns that Harris might not be as pro-labor or pro-union as President Biden, O'Brien said the Teamsters are “not like most labor unions.”
“We represent 1.3 million members. Half of us are Republicans, half are Democrats, so we have to serve all of us equally,” he said. “You all have different leadership styles. We want to have a conversation with Vice President Harris. I told someone the other day, I'm not going to hire anyone who doesn't give me an interview.”
Asked whether there was a chance the Teamsters might not be able to endorse anyone, as they did in 1996, O'Brien reiterated that the union strives to back candidates who are best for workers.
“1996 is a long time ago,” he said. “Everything will be driven by our rank and file members and our leadership. We are a very democratic union.”
