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Sean M. O’Brien

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Sean M. O’Brien is the General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT). He was elected to the position in November 2021, where he ran alongside Fred Zuckerman, who ran as General Secretary-Treasurer of the union. In March 2022, they were sworn in alongside the new executive board for a 5-year term. 1 2 3

Background

Sean O’Brien began his career with the IBT when he joined Teamsters Local 25 in Charlestown, MA at age 18, before eventually becoming president of Local 25 in 2006. In 2011, he became the International Vice President of the Eastern Region for IBT. 1

O’Brien also serves as a member of the board of directors for the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) as well as the Co-Chairman and Trustee of the New England Teamsters Pension Fund. 1

On July 15, 2024, O’Brien spoke at the 2024 annual Republican National Convention (RNC). Delivering the keynote speech on the first day of the convention, O’Brien claimed, “The American people aren’t stupid, they know the system is broken…We all know how Washington is run. Working people have no chance of winning this fight. That’s why I’m here today, because I refuse to keep doing the same things my predecessors did.” 4 In addition, his speech also criticized big businesses like Walmart and Amazon while calling the Chamber of Commerce, “unions for big business.” 4

References

  1. “Sean O’Brien.” International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Accessed November 20, 2023. https://teamster.org/leadership/sean-obrien/
  2. Isidore, Chris. “Hoffa critic elected to succeed him as Teamster president.” CNN Business, November 18, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/18/business/teamster-election-hoffa-obrien/index.html
  3. “O’BRIEN-ZUCKERMAN, GENERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD BEGIN FIVE-YEAR TERM.” International Brotherhood of Teamsters, March 22, 2022. https://teamster.org/2022/03/obrien-zuckerman-general-executive-board-begin-five-year-term/
  4. Watson, Katheryn. “Sean O’Brien, Teamsters union chief, becomes first Teamster to address RNC.” CBS News, July 15, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sean-obrien-teamsters-union-chief-rnc/
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