Sean O’Brien, head of the very large and very influential Teamsters Union spoke to the GOP National Convention Last Night. Response has been somewhat less than enthusiastic. No, he didn’t personally endorse Trump nor indicate his Union would. (They have yet to endorse anyone this cycle) but he did indicate at least some personal admiration for the human shaped flaming orange rectum (aka Trump) calling him a ‘tough S.O.B.’ referring to Saturday’s events.
As indicated by Real Clear Politics O’Brien’s apparent possible approval of Trump didn’t stop there. He praised Trump/the GOP for his being there to speak to them:
“President Trump had the backbone to open the doors to this Republican convention, and that’s unprecedented. No other nominee in the race would have invited the Teamsters into this arena,” he said. “Now, you can have whatever opinion you want, but one thing is clear: President Trump is a candidate who is not afraid of hearing from new, loud, and often critical voices.”
Is O’brien seeing the same Donald Trump everyone else has been seeing? Not just during his time in politics but his entire life? The Trump everyone else knows is on record talking about never allowing a slight to go unchallenged. To punch back twice as hard if someone “hits” him. Just look at the ritual humiliation he’s put political opponents that once criticized him through! No, Trump hasn’t ever hidden the fact he keeps score and isn’t satisfied with settling scores, but intends to ruin someone who “won” even a little bit at one time.
Trump is also as ANTI-Union as it gets. I’m having flashbacks to when the Teamsters (and some others) got in bed with Reagan. Reagan rode their support, then turned around early on and instead of negotiating in good faith with PATCO fired every one of this nation’s air traffic controllers creating chaos. He went on to engage in two terms of union busting and STILL the Teamsters (and others) remained loyal to Reagan and then Bush 41 and the GOP. The leadership for sure. But also a surprising number of the rank and file.
There is no reason, none, zero to think that if back in the WH Trump wouldn’t turn his Project 2025 folks loose to bust every union, and with a SCOTUS itching to return us to the Lochner Era if not something even worse. (Lords and Serfs?) O’Brien’s Teamsters and every other union would be devastated with a second Trump administration and a SCOTUS with cases The Federalist Society has in the pipeline ready to wipe out worker protections of all types. If he actually believes Trump’s team about having a seat at the table and working to strengthen unions he’s dumber than the dumbest, almost passed out drunk Meal Team Six MAGA at a Trump rally. Then again, like some of those who came before him maybe O’Brien doesn’t give two-sh*ts about his members. HE will make out fine and so will his closest cronies. And the rank and file? In classic conservative fashion it will be a case of I got MINE, so YOU can go f**k off.
Meanwhile we have a Democratic Party that all along has been supportive of workers rights. Establishing more unions and strengthening collective bargaining ability. Fight for legislation protecting worker’s rights including workplace safety. You know what else we have? A sitting President who comes from union roots, and who has spent more years in politics than O’Brien has been on this earth fighting for unions and workers!
Take a look at the left of the title pic. Note where Biden was speaking. He’s done a helluva lot more than talk at a Teamster conference over the years and decades. President Joe Biden has done more than photo ops. He’s worked to build and strengthen unions as a Senator, a Vice-President and as President. Hell, he became the first President ever to walk an actual union picket line – it was earlier this year in support of the UAW. Trump tried to counter-program with a stunt in a nearby NON-UNION parts shop. Tried to pretend he was supportive of workers. But it was an act, and as I noted given it was in a non-union factory where the owner would pull out all the stops to prevent a union being certified typical Trump hypocrisy and cynicism.
Trump talks the talk. President Biden literally walks the walk for unions and workers!
The article that first caught my attention on this story was from Alternet. Starting with their headline which included reaction being ‘Moment Of Shame’ it was clear O’Brien could well have some serious explaining to do with his members. It also notes some strong reaction on Twitter/X. For example:
Journalist/author David Simon, on July 16, tweeted, “Been a union man forty-one years. All of my working life. Pride and solidarity. Never experienced a single moment of shame, and when such a moment came, I never thought a Teamster would deliver it.”
The Alternet article includes other commentary critical of O’Brien, even pointing out how full of a certain smelly, brown organic substance he is:
The Washington Post’s Jeff Stein wrote, “At the RNC, Teamsters president Sean O’Brien is characterizing both parties as ambivalent about unions with room to improve There are 48 Senate sponsors of the PRO Act They all caucus with the Democratic Party Zero are Republicans.”
There’s more but you get the gist. It’s a short article that won’t take even two minutes to read and well worth the time. My takeaway is that a major union boss is trying to corruptly set himself and his cronies up for a big payoff if Trump wins. Yet hedge his bets with “both sides are bad” line of b.s. Just in case Trump loses because the kind of reaction he’s getting today runs deep and wide with the members of his union. It remains to be seen whether this asshat (yeah, I think he’d gladly wear a MAGA hat) O’Brien winds up speaking to the Democrats next month in Chicago. THAT could get interesting, both whether he’ll be invited and the fallout if he says things he said to the RNC That’s another and quite complicated topic so for now I’ll sign off.
Lies go hand in hand with hypocrisy and corruption.
How much does he get paid for betraying his cause?
I’ll wager, more than twenty pieces of silver.
An immediate recall election should be called by membership to have him removed. This is an outrage and it would only come about if he were lining his pockets handsomely.
It won’t be immediate but some powerful folks in that union aren’t happy and saying so. It could be he does face a challenge. Since Reagan lots of blue collar union types have bought into conservative bullshit but over time it’s started dawning on them that the promises conservative leaders (and their union leaders who’ve reaped most of what benefits as in perks & goodies) have actually bestowed have started to rethink things. It seems a LOT of them are realizing it’s been the Democratic Party on their side all along. They’ve spent decades, and by now some have lived all their lives hating all Democrats and the thought of voting for one seems like heresy. But they are seeing what I’ve said. AND that there’s no Democrat who’s fought harder for them all these decades than Joe Biden. He’s not just talked the talk but literally walked the walk including on a picket line with average Joe and Jane union workers while Trump was doing a photo op at a NON-UNION shop nearby and trying to pass it off as supporting workers. I gather that day has been getting a lot of attentnion in union halls since then. And that’s why even rank and file Teamsters are pissed at O’Brien.
I’m a past union person. So is hubby. How dare Sean O’Brien show up at the RNC when we all KNOW it’s the Dems that supports unions. Who paid Sean?
The National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP or Nazi party) had a worker oriented branch called the Sturmabteilung or SA which boasted over 3.5 million members.
Hitler used the SA to participate in street brawling and bullying the public in his rise to power.
Once Hitler had achieved the Chacellorship he had the heads of the SA arrested and executed in The Night of the Long knives because they had outlived their usefulness and at 3.5 million strong posed a threat to Hitler.
Tread lightly when walking through a den of rattlesnakes Mr. O’Brien…..those who don’t remember history……..are often doomed to repeat it.