(MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN) – Teamsters International President Sean O’Brien’s prime time speech earlier this week at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee is drawing different opinions from those in Organized Labor - some who agree and others who disagree that a high-ranking Union Official should have ever done what O’Brien did before such an Anti-Union Political Party hell bent on destroying the rights of Working People.

In fact, POLITICO said O’Brien is the first International Brotherhood of Teamsters President to address a Political Party known for pushing Anti-Union Legislation.

But the Teamsters Union has yet to commit to either White House contender.

In fact, O’Brien has requested a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention that will be held in Chicago next month.

O’Brien’s mere presence in Milwaukee illustrates the dire threat President Joe Biden faces with Union voters in an election where the Rust Belt has emerged as perhaps his only route to victory.

The Teamsters backed President Joe Biden in 2020 and Hilary Clinton four years prior.

This year, it remains among the most politically influential National Labor Unions yet to issue a Presidential Endorsement, while more than two dozen others have gotten behind Biden.

However, the Teamsters’ prominent presence at the Republican Convention helps former President Donald Trump’s pitch for Working Class Voters and underscores a broader populist shift within the GOP.

Siphoning off Union votes in November could grow the Trump campaign’s reach with traditional factions of the Democratic base – Working Class, Black, Latino and young voters.

However, not every Union Member was thrilled with O’Brien’s move.

“It legitimizes Donald Trump in the eyes of workers,” Tom Leedham, a retired Teamsters Leader who ran for Union President against Jimmy Hoffa Jr., said critically. “He’s claiming that he is the President of Working People.  It helps him with that image.”

To Continue Reading This Labor News Report, Go To: Teamsters President Sean O'Brien's RNC speech is about Trump's efforts to win over the working-class vote - POLITICO

Meanwhile, Mark Gruenberg at People’s World also reported on O’Brien’s speech:

Declaring the Teamsters “aren’t beholden to anyone or any party,” O’Brien used a prime-time speech to the GOP Convention to urge the Union-hostile Party to work with Organized Labor.

O’Brien claimed to speak for not just his Union, which he estimated is split 50-50 between Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden, but for Workers as a whole.

“I feel confident I’m representing the Working People of America, Union and Non-Union,” O’Brien said.

He thanked Trump for having “the backbone” to open the convention doors to the Teamsters and told a Fox News interviewer that he seeks a similar speaking slot with the Democrats at their convention in August in Chicago.

To Continue Reading This Labor News Report, Go To: Teamster President O’Brien gives prime-time speech at GOP convention – People's World (peoplesworld.org)