Sean O'Brien sold workers and unions out to Trump—these Teamsters are running to oust him

As general president of the union, Sean O'Brien has operated with a "Teamsters vs. Everybody" mentality, especially when it comes to dealing with President Trump and embracing the MAGA right. But now, 14 months into the second Trump administration, the labor movement and the entire working class—Teamsters members included—is under attack. In this episode of Working People, we speak with veteran Teamsters Richard Hooker Jr. and John Palmer, who are running to oust O'Brien from leadership in the upcoming union election.

Guests:

Richard Hooker Jr. has dedicated 26 years to the Teamsters, spending 20 of those years at UPS and the last six in leadership roles. He is the Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia, and he is now running on the Fearless Slate to unseat Sean O'Brien as a candidate for general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
John Palmer has 38 years of experience in the Teamsters and is currently serving as a vice president at large of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He is running on the Fearless Slate as a candidate to be the union's general secretary-treasurer.

Additional links/info:

Teamsters Fearless Slate website
Hank Kennedy, Current Affairs, "Sean O'Brien sold labor to Trump, and got nothing"
Michael Sainato, The Guardian, "Labor activist takes on Teamsters leader allying with Trump: 'He doesn't represent the workers'"
Joe Allen, CounterPunch, "Why are the Teamsters endorsing Greg Abbott?"
Peter Eavis, The New York Times, "UPS says it is cutting up to 30,000 jobs"
Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "Everybody hates Sean"
Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "We asked 8 different Teamsters what they thought of Sean O'Brien's speech—their responses may surprise you"

Featured Music:

Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(389)

LIVE SHOW w/ Kim Kelly, Alex Press, and Hamilton Nolan

The world as we know it is facing unprecedented crises today that are all converging at once, from "end-times fascism" and full-blown oligarchy to "artificial intelligence," endless wars, and genocide...

18 Juni 1h 12min

Who's afraid of Chris Smalls?

At a live event hosted at Red Emma's Cooperative Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore, Maryland, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez got to sit down for a deep and wide-ranging conversation wit...

8 Juni 54min

'They were going after everyone': Baltimore security officers fired and removed from schedules after lawful strike

Nearly a year after workers voted to authorize a strike, non-union city and commercially contracted security officers in Baltimore, MD, walked off the job on April 9 on an Unfair Labor Practice strike...

27 Maj 29min

Kim Kelly: Coal miners are dying, and Trump betrayed them

Since the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump and his acolytes, rightwing media, and coal industry barons and lobbyists have obsessively painted the picture of Trump as a friend to coal miners an...

20 Maj 33min

Over 4,000 UAW members on strike at Harvard University

After 14 months of fruitless contract negotiations with the Harvard University administration, over 4,000 workers represented by the Harvard Graduate Students Union (HGSU-UAW Local 5118) walked off th...

12 Maj 50min

Meet the new Pittsburgh Post-Gazette bosses, same as the old bosses

After members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh won their strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in late 2025, which had lasted for over 3 years, they were notified in January that the paper's wealt...

7 Maj 52min

Alec Baldwin backs union drive at Starbucks

After decades of decline, the organized labor movement in the US has seen a resurgence in rank-and-file militancy over the last decade, with increased strike actions and union drives in industries acr...

1 Maj 25min

May 1: A Nationwide 'Economic Blackout' Against Billionaires and Authoritarianism

Inspired by January's mass strike against ICE terror in Minnesota, a vast coalition of labor unions, democratic organizations, and community groups are organizing a nationwide economic blackout on Fri...

29 Apr 47min