Sean O'Brien (labor leader)

Last updated

Sean O'Brien
Sean O'Brien Philadelphia.jpg
O'Brien speaking on Independence Mall in Philadelphia in 2022
Born
Sean M. O'Brien

1971or1972(age 52–53)
Occupation Trade unionist
TitleGeneral President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (since 2022)

Sean M. O'Brien (born 1971or1972) [1] is an American labor leader who is the General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. [2] He formerly served as the Vice President Eastern Region of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).

Contents

O'Brien was the youngest person elected as President of Teamsters Local Union 25 and was the Secretary-Treasurer of New England Joint Council 10. [1] [3] O'Brien resigned from Local 25 and Joint Council 10 on March 1, 2022, in order to serve full-time as General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. [4] O'Brien was sworn into office as the 11th General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at the union's headquarters in Washington, D.C., on March 22, 2022. [5]

Early life

O'Brien grew up in Medford, Massachusetts, [6] in a family of Teamsters. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all members of Local 25 in Boston, driving trucks. O'Brien attended University of Massachusetts Boston for one semester before joining Local 25 in 1991. [7]

Teamster leadership

In 2006, O'Brien was elected president of Local 25, and was re-elected six times before becoming General President. In the fifteen-year span of his presidency, the local's membership increased by 30%, notably organizing a group of more than 1,000 parking lot attendants, many of whom were immigrants from East Africa. [7]

In 2013, O'Brien was suspended for two weeks for threatening members of the reform group Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) who were opposing one of his allies. O'Brien apologized and the lead TDU advocate in the episode later supported him. [2]

In 2017, O'Brien was the lead negotiator for the Teamsters with United Parcel Service (UPS) during bargaining for a new national contract, covering approximately 240,000 drivers, package sorters, loaders and clerks. [8] He was dismissed from his position as Package Division director by James P. Hoffa after reaching out to Teamster Locals and members that had opposed Hoffa's reelection as general president. [9]

O'Brien (front) with General Secretary-Treasurer-Elect Fred Zuckerman and other officials during a transition meeting Obrientransition.jpg
O'Brien (front) with General Secretary-Treasurer-Elect Fred Zuckerman and other officials during a transition meeting

Campaign for the general presidency of the IBT

In May 2018 O'Brien announced his candidacy to run against long-standing General President James P. Hoffa of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. [10] Hoffa eventually decided not to seek reelection and instead endorsed Steve Vairma, another vice president. The Sean O'Brien and Fred Zuckerman Slate was endorsed by Teamsters for a Democratic Union (a rank and file teamster reform organization) in November 2019 after a UPS contract was signed, despite a majority of members voting against the contract terms. [11] O'Brien also campaigned on organizing Amazon workers. In November 2021, O'Brien was elected, defeating Vairma in a rare win for a candidate who was neither an incumbent nor endorsed by the incumbent Teamsters president. O'Brien assumed the role in March 2022. [12]

Local 25 charity work

Under O'Brien's leadership Local 25 has raised more than $5,000,000 for charitable causes. [13]

Dispute with Markwayne Mullin

While testifying at a March 2023 hearing at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, O'Brien got into an argument, including back-and-forth insults, with US Senator from Oklahoma Markwayne Mullin. Afterwards, O'Brien tweeted at Mullin numerous times. When O'Brien next appeared in front of the same committee in November of that year, Mullin followed up on those tweets, which he said had challenged him to a fight, and told O'Brien that he accepted. As the two continued to insult each other, Mullin made clear that he was ready for a physical altercation. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the committee chairman, jumped in to try to calm tensions, reminding Mullin this behavior is not acceptable for a United States senator and urging him to stick to questions about labor. [14] [15] Mullin would later go on to state that he and O'Brien met after the altercation, where they "had a great two-hour conversation" and O'Brien "stood up and apologized" to him. [16]

2024 United States presidential election

On July 15, 2024, O'Brien became the first leader of the IBT ever to speak at a Republican National Convention, where he gave a speech encouraging delegates to respect American labor in spite of differing political allegiances. According to a Teamsters spokesperson, O'Brien also requested to speak at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. A Teamsters spokesperson said the DNC never responded to O'Brien's request for a speaker slot at the Democratic convention. [17] Despite historical affiliations with the Democratic Party, the Teamsters decided not to endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election after an internal poll revealed that 60% of their members supported Trump. [18] After this, joint councils for the states of Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin individually endorsed Harris. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Hoffa</span> American labor union leader (born 1913; disappeared 1975; declared dead 1982)

James Riddle Hoffa was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 until 1971. He is notorious for his alleged ties to organized crime and for his disappearance under mysterious circumstances in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Brotherhood of Teamsters</span> North American trade union

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue- and white-collar workers in both the public and private sectors, totalling about 1.3 million members in 2015. The union was formerly called the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James P. Hoffa</span> American labor union leader (born 1941)

James Phillip Hoffa, also known as James Hoffa Jr. or Jim Hoffa, is an American labor leader and attorney who was the tenth General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He is the son of Jimmy Hoffa. Hoffa was first elected in 1998, and re-elected in 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016 to five-year terms. In 2018, Hoffa was elected chair of the Road Transport Section of the International Transport Workers' Federation at its quadrennial Congress in Singapore. Hoffa is the second-longest serving General President of the Teamsters Union, after Dan Tobin, who served from 1907 to 1952. Hoffa's final term as General President ended in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Presser</span> American labor leader (1926–1988)

Jackie Presser was an American labor leader and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1983 until his death in 1988. He was closely connected to organized crime, and allegedly became president of the Teamsters based on the approval and support of the Cleveland Mafia. From 1972 until his death, he was also an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning Mafia influence in the Teamsters union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Fitzsimmons</span> American labor leader

Frank Edward Fitzsimmons was an American labor leader. He was acting president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1967 to 1971, and president from 1971 to 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teamsters for a Democratic Union</span> American labor organization

Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is a grassroots rank and file organization whose goal is to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters Union. The organization has chapters nationwide in the United States and Canada.

Ronald Robert Carey was an American labor leader who served as president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1991 to 1997. He was the first Teamster General President elected by a direct vote of the membership. He ran for re-election in 1996 and won, but in 1997 federal investigators discovered that the Carey campaign had engaged in an illegal donation kickback scheme to raise more than $700,000 for the 1996 re-election effort. His re-election was overturned, Carey was disqualified from running for Teamsters president again, and he was subsequently expelled from the union for life. Although a federal jury ultimately cleared him of all wrongdoing in the scandal, the lifetime ban remained in place until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teamsters Canada</span> Canadian trade union

Teamsters Canada is the Canadian wing of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Although the Teamsters have been present in Canada since 1903, Teamsters Canada was only established in 1976. The organization represents 125,000 workers in all industries. It is the largest transportation union in the country, and the largest private sector union under federal jurisdiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Provenzano</span> American gangster (1917–1988)

Anthony Provenzano, also known as Tony Pro, was an American mobster who was a powerful caporegime in the Genovese crime family New Jersey faction. Provenzano was known for his associations with Jimmy Hoffa due to Provenzano's job as an International Brotherhood of Teamsters president for Local 560 in Union City, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Paff</span>

Kenneth T. Paff is one of the founders and current National Organizer of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, a rank-and-file union democracy movement organizing to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Glimco</span> Italian-American mobster and labor leader

Joseph Paul Glimco was an Italian-American labor leader and well-known organized crime figure based in Chicago. He was considered "Chicago's top labor racketeer" in the 1950s. One high-ranking Chicago Teamsters leader noted in 1954, "He is the mob. When he opens his mouth, it's the syndicate talking". Glimco was active in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and a close associate of Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa. He was a capo in the Chicago Outfit, an organized crime syndicate, and oversaw the syndicate's labor racketeering efforts. He worked closely with Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo, who led the Chicago Outfit from 1943 to 1957, and Sam "Momo" Giancana, who led the syndicate from 1957 to 1966. A United States Senate committee once claimed that Glimco ran "the nation's most corrupt union".

Daniel H. La Botz is an American labor union activist, academic, journalist, and author. He was a co-founder of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) and has written extensively on worker rights in the United States and Mexico. He is a member of the socialist organization Solidarity, which describes itself as "a democratic, revolutionary socialist, feminist, anti-racist organization," which comes out of the Trotskyist tradition. La Botz ran in 2010 for a seat in the United States Senate for the Socialist Party. He is also a member of the Brooklyn branch of the Democratic Socialists of America and a co-editor of the socialist journal New Politics.

Gregory Floyd is the President of Teamsters Local 237, City Employees Union in New York, a position he has held since March 30, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes</span> Trade union

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes is a national union representing the workers who build and maintain the tracks, bridges, buildings and other structures on the railroads of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markwayne Mullin</span> American politician (born 1977)

Markwayne Mullin is an American businessman and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in a special election in 2022 to serve the remainder of Jim Inhofe's term. Mullin is the first Native American U.S. senator since Ben Nighthorse Campbell retired in 2005. He is also the second Cherokee Nation citizen elected to the Senate; the first, Robert Latham Owen, retired in 1925. Before being elected to the Senate, Mullin served as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2023.

John Francis English was an American labor union official. A member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), he was appointed as its Secretary-Treasurer by union president Daniel J. Tobin in 1946, and was re-elected to this post at every subsequent Teamsters convention until his death in February 1969 at the age of 80. The organisation itself described English as the "greatest Secretary-Treasurer" it had encountered.

The United Parcel Service strike of 1997, led by International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) President Ron Carey, started on August 4, 1997, and involved over 185,000 Teamsters. The strike effectively shut down United Parcel Service (UPS) operations for 15 days and costs UPS hundreds of millions of dollars. The strike was a victory for the union, resulting in a new contract that increased their wages, secured their existing benefits and gave increased job security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Camarata</span> American activist (1946–2014)

Pete Camarata was a Teamster labor activist and one of the founders of Teamsters for a Democratic Union a rank-and-file union democracy movement organizing to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters.

The 2021 leadership election for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters occurred after the General President James P. Hoffa announced his retirement. Ballots were mailed to eligible members of the North American union on October 4, 2021, and counting of the ballots began on November 15, 2021. On November 19, 2021, Sean O'Brien of the Teamsters United slate was declared the winner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsay Dougherty</span> American union organizer

Lindsay Dougherty is an American labor leader. Since May 2022, she has been Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 399. In that capacity she represents more than 6500 Hollywood workers. Dougherty is also director of the Teamsters Motion Picture and Theatrical Trade Division and Western Region Vice President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. In all three positions, she is the first woman to hold the role.

References

  1. 1 2 "Sean O'Brien carries on legacy". Boston Herald. May 30, 2018. Archived from the original on September 10, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Scheiber, Noam (November 19, 2021). "A Hoffa Ally, Then a Foe, and Soon the Teamsters President". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  3. "Message from the President" (PDF). Teamsters Local 25. Winter 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  4. "Social Media – Teamsters Union Local 25".
  5. "O'brien-Zuckerman, General Executive Board Begin Five-Year Term".
  6. Johnston, Katie (July 27, 2023). "'He's a force': Teamsters head Sean O'Brien, who just reached UPS deal, has deep Mass. labor roots". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Leonard, Devin; Black, Thomas (November 12, 2021). "First Task for the Teamsters' Next Boss: Take On UPS". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  8. Schneider, Mike (October 18, 2018). "Thousands of Teamsters voted against a new UPS contract. It was ratified anyway. Union drivers feel betrayed". www.chicagotribune.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  9. Ashe, Ari (September 12, 2017). "O'Brien Fired as Top Teamsters Negotiator in UPS Contract Talks". www.ttnews.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  10. Dowling, Brian (May 30, 2018). "Boston teamsters boss to take on James P. Hoffa". www.bostonherald.com. Boston Herald. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  11. Levin, David (January 2020). "The Teamster Revolt Against the Hoffa Era". www.jacobinmagin.com. Jacobin Magazine. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  12. Scheiber, Noam (November 19, 2021). "A Hoffa Ally, Then a Foe, and Soon the Teamsters President". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  13. Damiano, Michael (November 1, 2016). "The Boss: Sean O'Brien and the Teamsters Attempt an Extreme Makeover". www.bostonmagazine.com. Boston Magazine. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  14. Becket, Stefan (November 14, 2023). "GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenges Teamsters president Sean O'Brien to fight at Senate hearing". CBS News. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  15. Greco, Jonathan (November 14, 2023). "Words between US Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Teamster leader lead to fight challenge in Tulsa". KOCO 5 News. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  16. Folley, Aris (July 18, 2024). "Mullin says Teamsters chief apologized after confrontation at Senate hearing". The Hill . Retrieved July 19, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. "UAW's Shawn Fain Blasts 'Scab' Trump In DNC Speech". HuffPost. August 20, 2024.
  18. Gurley, Lauren Kaori (September 18, 2024). "Teamsters will not endorse for president, in blow to Democrats". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  19. Multiple sources