When Sean O’Brien was first elected president of the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters, socialists took notice. While O’Brien was not a part of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), a reform caucus within the Teamsters union, TDU endorsed him and ran a coalition campaign alongside him. Socialists saw his election as a win, as many in TDU supported his campaign.
At the time, it was a win. The election of the O’Brien and TDU coalition reflected a deeper desire for change within the membership of the Teamsters, a desire emboldened by the years TDU spent organizing for reform. After years of stagnant progress and lackluster contracts for Teamster members, the rank and file had elected new, seemingly more militant leadership, with promises of stronger contracts and support for new organizing.
The O’Brien administration kept both promises. The Teamsters won a strong contract by organizing against UPS after workers signed strike pledges and engaged in practice pickets outside of UPS facilities. Things seemed to be moving in a pro-worker, pro-organizing direction thanks to the new leadership.
So What Happened?
O’Brien’s reputation with the Left began to unravel when he was photographed meeting with Trump early this year, with many scoffing at the idea of a labor union president meeting with a bigoted billionaire. That, unfortunately, was only the tip of the iceberg. In July of 2024, O’Brien delivered a controversial speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC), a convention filled with anti-worker politicians and bigots eager to renominate Trump. That same week, in his acceptance speech, Trump called for the democratically elected president of the United Auto Workers, Shawn Fain, “to be fired,” reflecting Trump’s long and infamous history of firing working-class people as a billionaire CEO.
The contemporary Republican Party is no friend of working-class people. The party’s “moderate” wing is increasingly drowned out by its far-right politicians that spout Trumpist talking points. Republican legislators have been vocally against unions, shamefully championed anti-union “right-to-work” laws and are backed by corporate and billionaire funding. This, coupled with intense social conservatism, calls for mass deportation, and the fear-mongering rhetoric from former-president Donald Trump, make the Republican Party increasingly dangerous for working-class Americans, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds.
From being elected as part of a reformist coalition that sought to win better contracts for Teamsters members, to speaking at the national convention for the United States’s most anti-worker party, Sean O’Brien’s image tanked and is now shrouded with controversy. If the president of the Teamsters, one of the strongest unions in the United States, is willing to sell out his membership by cozying up to the party of billionaires and shareholders, who tout a socially conservative and reactionary platform and seek to divide the United States based on race, gender, sexuality and class, then one can only imagine what is to come with his continued leadership of the union.
Examining Why O’Brien Would Speak at the RNC.
Sean O’Brien is tactfully and opportunistically positioning himself to make it nigh impossible to challenge him. There is a vast amount of room for improvement for political education within the Teamsters, and large swaths of the membership hold reactionary, right-wing populist political positions that are incompatible with the labor movement. O’Brien speaking at the Republican National Convention appeals to this membership base within the Teamsters – he becomes difficult to attack from the right.
O’Brien is also in coalition with Teamsters for a Democratic Union. Most socialists within the Teamsters are organizing with TDU, and many argue that maintaining this coalition is vital for union reformists to hold positions of power within the IBT. However, due to the fact that it is a coalition, one with fragility and an array of political opinions, it becomes difficult to rock the boat without also risking the coalition itself. For that, it becomes difficult to attack O’Brien from the left.
With the Teamsters officially announcing no endorsement, not for the sake of political independence, but for the sake of appeasing politically dealigned and reactionary membership, O’Brien is garnering minimal opposition from both ends of the political spectrum, with no clear alternatives emerging.
What Role Does Teamsters for a Democratic Union Play?
Teamsters for a Democratic Union is a large reform caucus with members across North America, with a wide variety of political opinions. O’Brien is not a member of TDU, and is not reflective of their politics. This turn of events, however, does draw attention to some challenges faced by a successful reform caucus, and raises questions about TDU’s apolitical stances and its strategy of continuing a coalition with Sean O’Brien.
TDU is explicitly apolitical, meaning that those running for union office with TDU’s backing may not be sympathetic to socialist or even remotely progressive politics. While reform caucuses ought to start apolitical to allow for growth – requiring only a radical commitment to democratize and organize one’s union – they should not remain apolitical in the long term if we support building militant, worker movements towards socialism.
Apoliticism at a reform caucus’s conception is essential to reach and engage with the union membership at-large. People are not going to be convinced of socialism immediately – most workers are not even convinced to support a union in one conversation. It takes time, trust, and hundreds of conversations to build comradery in the workplace, and it is from this comradery that leads to political education and experiences that convince people of the idea of a better future. It is through this process that people realize that their power comes from one another and working together against the ruling, capitalist class.
Socialist organizers should be at the organizational cores of reform caucuses as they grow, holding influence and building workplace trust and relationships, as to best sway the political direction and organizing of the reform movement. Once the organization has grown to a sufficient size and trust between workers within the union has been built, socialists should contribute to the political education of their most militant coworkers and those who are natural leaders. Socialists should look for opportunities to tie workplace issues into the broader political context, and push to elect their fellow disciplined socialists to union officer roles, all amongst a radical commitment to democracy.
O’Brien’s appearance at the RNC raises questions about the when and how union reform caucuses form coalitions, and when it’s right to maintain them. While coalitions can be strategic, socialists ought to be cautious when choosing allies. While aligning with O’Brien may have allowed for TDU candidates to be elected to union officer positions, and the coalition defeated the Hoffa endorsed candidate, O’Brien’s recent decision to speak at the RNC make this coalition appear untenable in the long term. There should be a push to oust him in the near future in favor of a candidate who is committed to rank and file union militancy, one who favors building a real alternative to the duopoly of the capitalist parties, and who rejects Sean O’Brien’s strategy of playing nice with the Republican Party. In order for such a path to be viable, DSA Teamsters need to organize internally and grow their numbers, with the goal of not only organizing their coworkers into shop floor action through rank-and-file organizing, but also to radicalize more of their coworkers towards socialism, which requires fighting the bosses and taking on the system as a whole.
The question socialist Teamsters in TDU need to grapple with is not if this coalition should be maintained, but rather when to break it. It is incredibly worth noting that the Teamsters, with this new coalition of leadership, has entered an era of new organizing and new growth. From a vastly improved UPS contract, successful campaigns to organize Cannabis workers, and successfully organizing a CostCo store into the Teamsters for the first time in over two decades, it is understandable as to why people would be inclined to continue this coalition into the near future. It is incredibly plausible that, without this coalition, this prosperity would not be taking place.
On the other hand, we cannot overlook the travesties of O’Brien’s administration. In addition to his abhorrent RNC appearance and vacillation with Donald Trump, O’Brien’s administration has been plagued by controversy, including a $2.9 million dollar settlement for a racial discrimination lawsuit, and accusations of performing hostile raids on other unions. Many UPS part-timers (who primarily work inside UPS warehouses) were left disappointed by the new contract; it had many gains, but fell short of some demands as well, such as the $25/hr starting wage, and increasing the minimum daily hours guarantee from 3.5 to 4. Lastly, many Teamsters are still facing undemocratic and bureaucratic repression from his administration.
A Radical, Dissident Left Could Emerge Within the Teamsters.
As the US labor movement enters an uptick of new organizing and worker militancy, it has become more apparent than ever that uplifting the working class will not be accomplished by playing nice with the bosses, nor by cozying up to the corporate-controlled, reactionary Republican Party. A labor leader acting to obscure the fascist threat presented with Trumpism does not serve working-class people, it misleads them into thinking such an ideology, such a candidate, and such a party is for workers, when it is anything but. In reality, both of the United States’ two major political parties regularly betray the interests of working-class people.
O’Brien’s tactics have landed him a place of security as it pertains to his reelection chances, but his safety as an incumbent could be rocked by socialists within the IBT.
Teamsters continue to take on new organizing to bring more working-class people under the union’s umbrella. New campaigns in existing locals are organizing for better contracts. There are also bold organizing plans to take on Amazon, one of the largest and richest corporations in the world. We can feel good about our future prospects.
Socialists have historically and continue to play a vital role in union organizing, which is especially apparent with the ongoing Amazon campaign. In ALU-IBT Local 1, workers recently elected DSA members to their local executive board: Connor Spence as President and Kathleen Cole as Secretary-Treasurer. Numerous other ongoing campaigns around the country also have militant DSA members involved with the organizing, rightfully taking on leading roles in warehouse organizing committees. This, coupled with efforts contributed by members of other leftist organizations like Socialist Alternative, the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA), and others, mean that tackling Amazon has the incredibly real possibility of drastically reshaping the Teamsters political landscape.
With DSA Teamsters at the helm to steer rank-and-file organizing, we can continue to challenge the status quo bureaucracy of the Teamsters union, and put up a real resistance against the bosses. O’Brien’s administration has undeniably accomplished much, but speaking at the RNC was horrible for the labor movement. His condemnable actions have given rise to increased dissent against his administration. The base of Teamsters membership that are to the left of Trumpism are increasingly discontent with O’Brien’s actions, giving rise to “Teamsters Against Trump”, which many TDU members are involved in. It is clear that O’Brien is not an end-goal, nor a savior of working class people.
In a growing labor movement, there are more opportunities for socialist union members to directly reach a growing pool of working class people. We have the opportunity to grow, educate, radicalize, and mobilize union members towards electing pro-worker, socialist candidates to union officer roles, and push the masses towards political independence. O’Brien’s political jockeying at the RNC is a frustrating distraction in the context of this historic opportunity presented by an advancing labor movement. It will forever be a stain on his legacy. Rather than building up and advancing working class interests, O’Brien is instead trying to keep himself and his union within the good graces of genuine class enemies while simultaneously consolidating his own power within the IBT. Republican politicians, if they are not the bosses themselves, are shills to the system. They do not care to ever improve the lives of everyday people, and instead represent the demands of big businesses and the protection of their capital.