The president of the powerful Teamsters union, with 1.3 million members, slammed the Democratic Party and described how he believes the party “has screwed us over for the last 40 years.”
Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien spoke with comedian Theo Von about his Podcast from last weekend to which he has more than 3 million subscribers.
O’Brien described himself as a Democrat, but believes the party may no longer be adequate to represent the working class.
“I’m a Democrat but we’ve been screwed for the last 40 years and for once We stand up as a union and say what the fuck have you done for us? O’Brien said in scathing comments.
Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien has criticized the Democratic Party, describing how he believes the party has “screwed us over for the last 40 years.”
A letter from the union’s executive board revealed that there was a split among members and that there was an erosion in support for Democrats after Joe Biden resigned in July.
‘They’re attacking me from the left, you know? And since I have been in office for more than two and a half years, we have given the Democratic machine $15.7 million.
“To tell you the truth, we have given the Republicans about $340,000, so it’s like you know people say the Democratic Party is the party of workers, but in reality they are bought and paid for by big tech companies,” O’Brien explained.
“Now we have Republicans now saying, ‘Hey, we want to be the party of the working class!” and that’s okay, right now you have a great opportunity to do it.
‘As for Democrats, if 60 percent of our members don’t support them, the damn system is broken and needs to be fixed. Yes“Point your finger at the Teamsters union and look in the mirror,” he said bluntly.
Earlier in the podcast, O’Brien explained that he believed the sands might be shifting now that the Republican Party is vying to be the party that represents working people.
“It’s funny, before there were always Democrats fighting for workers and now we see a change in which workers feel that the Democratic Party has left them behind and Republicans say they want to be the party that represents them.” the working class,” O’Brien said.
In July, O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention days after Harris met with union leaders.
Former President Donald Trump watches as Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, speaks at the RNC in July.
Sean O’Brien appears on stage on the first day of the Republican National Convention in July.
“They have the opportunity to do it, but I think we have a great opportunity to organize ourselves.” We have been exposing them and we have been fighting. And you know our biggest opponent right now is Amazon and we are going to crush them.”
Last month, the powerful union decided not to endorse either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris for president, in a blow to Democrats.
The move came just weeks after O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention and days after Harris met with union leaders.
A letter from the union’s executive board revealed that there was a split among members and that there was an erosion in support for Democrats after Joe Biden resigned in July.
Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien is seen meeting with President Joe Biden in April 2022. Union members were fans of Biden, but appear to be less interested in Harris.
Vice President Kamala Harris met with grassroots truckers from across the country last month. The union decided not to endorse any of the candidates
“President Joe Biden garnered support from the Teamsters by voting in local union polls between April and July prior to his exit from the race,” the statement said, pointing to member polling data.
“But in an independent electronic and telephone poll from July to September, a majority of voting members twice selected Trump for a potential Teamsters endorsement over Harris.”
“Extensive polling among union members showed neither majority support for Vice President Harris nor universal support among members for President Trump.”
That left leaders of the union, which includes truckers and a variety of other professions, in the difficult position of selecting a candidate who did not have strong support from their own members.
The union, which is more conservative than many other unions that align with Democrats, has not endorsed a Republican since 1988. Nor did it do so in 1976 or in 1996 during Bill Clinton’s re-election campaign.
O’Brien spoke with comedian Theo Von, left, on his podcast This Past Weekend, to which he has more than 3 million subscribers.
The union, which is more conservative than many other unions that align with Democrats, has not endorsed a Republican since 1988. Union president Sean O’Brien, pictured in July 2023.
The high-impact move comes in an election in which Rust Belt battlegrounds are critical. Public polls show that Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all with strong union membership, are in play.
It is the only one of the country’s top ten unions that does not endorse Harris.
According to data released by the union, the rank and file chose Trump over Harris by 60-34 percent.
The announcement was the latest union action in a closely contested election.
Biden set out to march with striking UAW workers earlier this year. And Trump sparked controversy with an approving comment to Elon Musk on Platform X when Musk talked about firing striking workers.
The Teamsters also criticized both candidates for failing to commit to supporting them on key issues.
‘After reviewing six months of national member surveys and concluding nearly a year of roundtable interviews with all the major presidential candidates, the union was left with few commitments on the Teamsters’ top issues from the Former President Donald Trump or Vice President. President Kamala Harris, and found no definitive support among members for either party’s candidate,” it said.
