Updated Dec. 20
This March, Sean O’Brien will be leading the 1.4 million members of the International Teamsters Union as their president. He’s currently the head of Local 25 in Boston and Vice President Eastern Region, International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He joined Jim Braude on Greater Boston to discuss his goals, including his plan to organize Amazon workers.
Despite the failure of workers in Alabama to unionize an Amazon warehouse, O’Brien said a new generation of workers and a new enthusiasm for organizing gives him hope for the labor movement.
“The landscape has changed,” he said. “We have an obligation as Teamsters to uphold community standards… We can show you a contract that’s guaranteed health insurance, retirement, all kinds of working conditions. We know those workers at Amazon deserve the best and there is an appetite to organize.”
In his campaign, O’Brien promised to work to bring unions to Amazon. “We’ve got to change the laws, we’ve got to influence these politicians,” he said. “It’s not just Amazon, it’s the Ubers and the Lyfts, it’s the gig economy. We’ve got to change these laws to make certain that we are being able to organize these industries.”
“The reason why these companies and corporations go the independent contractor model — all they care about is the bottom line of the balance sheet,” he continued. “There’s no pride or anything else. There’s no appreciation for the workers that are making them a success.”
WATCH: Teamsters’ President-elect wants to organize Amazon workers
This post was updated to correct a typo.
