OPINION:
About 6% of all workers in the United States are in private sector unions, down considerably from the peak of 35% in 1954.
Some of that deterioration has been a result of offshoring of semiskilled and skilled labor; some of it is a result of mechanization in the workplace; some of it is a result of government policies that have discouraged trade unions; and some of it is a result of aggressive opposition to trade unions by some employers.
Some of it, though, is the result of suboptimal union leadership.
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Take, for instance, Sean O’Brien, who currently serves as general president of the Teamsters. Mr. O’Brien has carefully curated a public persona of studied neutrality between the political parties. On the one hand, he has embraced Republicans such as Sen. Ashley Moody of Florida, attends rallies for Rep. Mike Lawler of New York and Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, and always seems interested in whatever President Trump might think. He even scored a speaking role at the Republican National Convention in July 2024.
This public embrace of some Republicans is understandable. Mr. O’Brien needs to appeal to the majority of his members who routinely vote for Republican candidates.
On the other hand, rallies do not matter as much as money, and Teamsters’ money usually winds up in the hands of Democrats. For instance, the union’s political action committee, DRIVE, gave $800,000 to the two biggest Democratic super PACs fighting for control of Congress: $300,000 to the Senate Majority PAC in September and $500,000 to the House Majority PAC in October.
Mr. O’Brien is trying to appease his members who vote Republican while ensuring that the Teamsters, as an organization, remain solidly in the Democratic camp. The Republicans get the rallies; the Democrats get the cash. Which do you think is more important? Maybe a better question would be: Whom does Mr. O’Brien represent? According to internal polling released by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in September 2024, about 60% of rank-and-file Teamsters members voted for the union to endorse Republican candidate Donald Trump, compared with 34% for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
The donations in this cycle are not outliers. Long-term federal political action committee contribution data collected by OpenSecrets indicates that, historically, more than 85% of the contributions from the Teamsters’ political action committee have gone to Democrats.
Mr. O’Brien’s agenda will always ultimately serve the Democrats, irrespective of what he says, whom he might endorse, or which rallies he attends. He does not really represent the majority of his members who reliably vote for Republicans.
Republicans would be well-served to understand with some clarity that folks such as Mr. O’Brien are not their friends. They are not their allies. They do not wish Republicans well.
The Teamsters, as an organization, helped Democrats win the House and Senate. While appearing to stand for Republicans and for American values, Mr. O’Brien and his team are essentially Democratic Party operatives who write checks to Democrats working to elect the radical socialists who now dominate the Democratic Party.
Rank-and-file Teamsters should get a clearer sense of where their dues and donations go during campaigns and on which side their “leaders” might be. In many instances, it is not where they would prefer it to be.
• Michael McKenna is a contributing editor at The Washington Times.
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