The New Teamsters: Bigger, Faster, Stronger

Published: Nov. 22, 2022, 3:02 p.m.

Leslie is joined by Sean O'Brien, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Sean is a 4th-generation Teamster from Boston, and at 50 years old, the youngest Teamsters General President. He was sworn in March 2022. The Teamsters Union, founded in 1903, represents 1.2 million workers across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.
The website for the Teamsters is Teamsters.org and their handle on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram is @Teamsters. Sean's Twitter handle is @TeamsterSOB.

The two discuss:

- What Sean hopes to accomplish as Teamsters President

- How the Teamsters is becoming a bigger, faster, stronger and more militant union (a goal of Sean's)

- Who the Teamsters are comprised of as a Union (they're a diverse union and they represent workers throughout the supply chain – skies, rails, roads…)

- The Teamsters-UPS contract expires July 31, 2023. Covering 340,000 Teamster members, it is the single largest collective bargaining agreement in North America. Teamsters are ready to fight for a strong contract at UPS, or hit the pavement on August 1st.

- What are the Teamsters plans for Amazon (they just formed a new Amazon division and visited their headquarters with a message for the company)

- The Teamsters are a Union that organizes. Sean shares where they've been doing this organizing.

- How the Teamsters are involved politically in the U.S.