Speech by Teamsters leader at Republican National Convention reveals division within union

Sean O’Brien needs the Republicans more than Republicans need him.

That’s the best way to understand the International Brotherhood of Teamsters president’s decision to speak at the GOP’s convention next week.

While most commentators have framed this appearance as part of Donald Trump’s outreach to union voters, the former president has already made historic inroads without pandering to union leaders.

The real story is that O’Brien is seeking to keep the loyalty of his own members in response to their rightward trend.

In the 2016 election, Trump narrowed Democrats’ margin of victory among union households to just 8%, the GOP’s best showing since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

While President Biden restored his party’s dominance in 2020, winning 57% of union households compared to Mr. Trump’s 40%, recent polls show the former president rapidly regaining popularity with union members in battleground states.

A March poll from Quinnipiac showed Biden with a mere 9-point lead among Michigan union households, a far cry from his 25-point lead there in 2020.

The Teamsters union has had a front-row seat to this transformation.

While the party affiliation and preferences of its members aren’t publicly available, the union represents a wide variety of working-class voters — the type of workers who have suffered greatly under Bidenomics, hit hard by soaring inflation and slow wage growth.

On the other hand, these workers fondly remember the Trump boom years, which were the direct result of policies that the Teamsters’ leadership opposed, including the 2017 tax cuts and regulatory reforms that gave workers and job creators more freedom.

While the Teamsters continue to oppose almost every part of the Republican Party’s economic platform, that same platform is already retaining and expanding the GOP’s support among union households.

O’Brien knows that many of his members will balk if the Teamsters blindly back Biden’s re-election, given their reversal of economic fortunes in the last four years.

That’s why he’ll speak at the Republican convention — a historic first: No major union head has appeared at the GOP’s podium in recent memory.

And in January, the Teamsters gave their first donation in 20 years to the Republican National Committee’s convention fund.

O’Brien likely wants Republicans to abandon their principles on pro-worker policies like right-to-work and independent contracting — at a time when some supposed conservatives are labor-curious and flirting with union demands.

But he’ll settle, for now, with giving his members the appearance of playing nice with the Republican Party.

And to be clear, the Teamsters’ chief is likely putting on a show: O’Brien has also requested a speaking slot at the Democrat convention, and like almost every labor union, the Teamsters leadership is highly supportive of progressive priorities.

Since 2019, the union has given 99% of its $9 million in advocacy spending to liberal causes.

That’s unlikely to change after O’Brien speaks at the Republican convention, or even if Trump wins the election in November.

Will O’Brien’s window dressing work?

Maybe at first.

He can now tell his members that he’s reached out to Republicans, even as he winks at his Democratic allies to confirm that the Teamsters are fully aligned with their policy priorities.

But over time, those same liberal policies will continue to worsen the suffering of the workers the Teamsters represent.

More taxing and spending will drive inflation, spiking everyday costs while suppressing wages.

More heavy-handed government mandates will drive companies to automate, go offshore or go out of business.

None of this bodes well for union workers.

The left’s agenda is likely to drive even more of the dissatisfaction that has already led to historic working-class support for Trump and the Republicans.

That, in turn, will put union leaders in the tough position of continually opposing the policies that deliver the benefits union members want.

Unions like the Teamsters are already playing a dangerous game: They despise policies like secret-ballot unionization elections and other worker protections, yet union members overwhelmingly support them, with 76% backing the secret ballot alone.

Workers are smarter than union leaders realize.

O’Brien’s speech at the Republican National Convention may convince some of his members that he’s amenable to partnering with Trump and the GOP, but words won’t be enough for long.

Members may soon want concrete signs of union support for the Republican agenda and its promised growth and opportunity.

They may even demand that union leaders reject issues that are core to modern union identity, such as more government and less worker freedom.

Union workers are already trending Republican, regardless of who their leaders endorse.

How long will it take before their leaders start actually reflecting their wishes?

F. Vincent Vernuccio is president of the Institute for the American Worker.