This past week the Teamsters National Black Caucus (TNBC) held their yearly conference in Las Vegas. Angered by Teamsters general president (GP) Sean O’Brien’s embarrassing spectacle at the Republican National Convention (RNC), where he paid homage to the most anti-labor chauvinists and xenophobic bigots in the party’s history, the TNBC uninvited him. In defiance of the actions of the attention deficit suffering O’Brien, the caucus instead invited former Teamsters GP – James P Hoffa Jr.
In further defiance, and an insult to O’Brien. who is obviously gunning for the Secretary of Labor appointment under a possible second Donald Trump presidency, the TNBC endorsed Kamala Harris for president of the United States. With approximately 30% of Teamster members being of African-American descent, the endorsement of Harris by the caucus carries serious weight in not only the nation’s presidential election, but also the Teamsters 2026 general election.
A day after the TNBC announced their presidential endorsement, Josh Zivalich of Teamsters Local 769 in Miami countered in a harsh detailed letter to O’Brien over his flirtation with anti-union Donald Trump and his own failure to acknowledge that the Biden-Harris administration saved hundreds of thousands of Teamster members in failing pension funds from cuts. Interestingly, O’Brien’s own New England Teamsters Pension Fund received $5.7 billion at the end of July. In the letter, Zivalich implored O’Brien to endorse Harris for president.
During the TNBC conference, Chris Silvera of Local 808 delivered a gruesome critique of O’Brien over his embrace of the pro-Right-to-Work Trump. But more importantly, he also called on the members to make “the general president a one-term general president.” International vice president-at-large, John Palmer. who was also present at the event, received a great reception after being the first officer to openly lead the rebellion against O’Brien. Already following O’Brien’s fascistic speech at the RNC, Palmer announced he was seeking to build an opposition slate to unseat O’Brien and “send him back to the truck.”
To the surprise of everyone, Joint Council (JC) 28 in the state of Washington headed by Western Region vice president, Rick Hicks, in a press release attacked Trump and Elon Musk’s union busting conversation, before endorsing Harris for president. The executive board of Local 186. led by Abel Garcia, in Ventura CA became the first local of the largest joint council in the nation, JC 42, to also endorse Harris.
O’Brien, of course, retaliated against the TNBC and on the last day of the conference pulled officers who were due to receive honorary awards. Eastern Region vice-president Rocco Calo canceled his attendance and two other vice-presidents, Juan Campos of Chicago and Tony Jones of Columbus, Ohio, both mysteriously disappeared on the last day of the event. After Zivalich’s letter, O’Brien painted a target on him by warning that his local had not met the union’s DRIVE standards. O’Brien also canceled the trip for international staffers scheduled for a training session in Alaska which was to be chaired by Hicks. Three international organizers appointed to Local 186 were also withdrawn in retaliation.
International vice president and head of JC 42, Chris Griswold, remained at the TNBC and stated: “we must elect her!” However, JC 42 has not made an official endorsement.
Not surprising, the Boston leader has over the years gained national notoriety for his thuggish behavior and verbal threats against his own membership. The fourth generation Teamster and University of Massachusetts (UMASS) flunky is proud of the corrupt history of his home local, based in Charlestown. a sector of Boston best known for its historic ties to the criminal element. O’Brien’s own father, Billy, made the headlines of the local media, including the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Howie Carr Show, for his association with James “Whitey” Bulger’s Winter Hill Gang and their extra-curricular activities. The gang made a name for itself in Boston after successfully infiltrating and hijacking Local 25’s motion picture division, of which the elder O’Brien served as a crew chief.
Now after two-and-half years of defeats and concessionary contracts, it will be interesting to see how many more locals, joint councils, and caucuses join the rebellion against Sean O’Brien’s authoritarian and incompetent rule. Ironically, the discredited Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) which has become another layer of the most bureaucratized and corrupt union in North America, has remained silent.
-Edgar Esquivel
