Posts tagged RNC Convention
WMKT Special Edition Interviews Vinnie Vernuccio: RNC Labor Speech
July 30, 2024 // Vinnie Vernuccio, President and Co-founder of the Institute for the American Worker joins the show to discuss the fallout from Teamsters Union President Sean O'Brien's speech at the RNC convention.
LTE: The Teamsters Boss Paid a Price for His GOP Speech
July 30, 2024 // Wall Street Journal Letter to the Editor by Vinnie Vernuccio: Sean O’Brien’s speech to the Republican National Convention wasn’t the end of the story.
Teamsters social media rips union president in critical, now-deleted post
July 18, 2024 // “The message this sends to Teamsters of color, Teamsters women, and LGBTQ Teamsters is that they are not welcome in the union unless they surrender their identity to a new kind of anti-woke unionism,” the account wrote. “You don’t unite a diverse working class by scoffing at this diversity.” The account also suggested that O’Brien was endorsing what it said was an attempt by Hawley to tie bigotry to a “cynical pro-labor message.” During his speech at the RNC, O’Brien suggested that the union could revert from its historic posture of endorsing Democrats. The Teamsters account later posted that the union wasn’t “beholden to anyone or any party.”
Op-Ed: Union leaders need Trump more than he needs them
July 18, 2024 // Collective bargaining is a right and workers should be supported in it when that represents an honest expression of their collective will. It’s part of the First Amendment’s right to “peaceably” assemble. However, that’s not the same thing as accepting the claims of leaders like O’Brien that they need more leverage to pressure workers into joining unions for their own good. Workers can make their own choices. O’Brien spoke to the GOP convention in part because many of his own members are already Trump supporters and he needed to demonstrate to his folks that he’s willing to at least talk. Trump has thus far avoided catering to union leaders and has instead talked directly to the workers. It has worked for him too, getting the Teamsters boss to sing his praises. In short, O’Brien needs Trump more than Trump needs him.
‘Betrayed’: Unions, White House irate over Teamsters president’s RNC speech
July 18, 2024 // President Biden secured a pension bailout that restored retirement accounts for about 350,000 Teamsters members, appointed staunchly pro-labor allies to the National Labor Relations Board and instituted labor requirements for federal contracts. The backlash against O’Brien’s speech reflects the high stakes of the 2024 presidential election for the nation’s labor movement, which fears Trump will undo these policies.
Teamsters President Speaks to Republican Convention, but Union Gives Almost Exclusively to Liberal Politicians and Causes
July 17, 2024 // On June 20, the Center for Union Facts released a report detailing how the Teamsters use their members’ dues. Their study found that “the Teamsters union and its locals send a significant portion of its members’ dues to left-leaning political advocacy, typically without the consent of its membership.” Between 2019 and 2022, the union spent over 99% of member dues on left-of-center causes, initiatives, and entities. Over this time frame, “the Teamsters sent over $9 million to left-leaning advocacy, while only directing $57,050 toward bipartisan efforts and $7,877 toward GOP-led initiatives and campaigns.”
Self-Described ‘Most Pro-Union President’ Joe Biden Facing Skepticism From Labor Leaders Following Debate Debacle
July 16, 2024 // A day earlier, Fain met with his union’s executive board to discuss grave concerns about Biden’s ability to win the looming presidential election, according to three sources who spoke with Reuters. The UAW has roughly 400,000 members with an outsized presence in Michigan, a key swing state. Association of Flight Attendants President Sara Nelson reportedly was among the most outspoken regarding concerns about Biden’s electability at Wednesday’s AFL-CIO meeting,
OPINION: Teamsters boss’ RNC speech reveals his precarious hold on members’ loyalty
July 11, 2024 // 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.