Teamsters Chief Makes Star Turn at Senate Hearing on Labor Law

Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien’s influence with Senate Republicans was on full display during a hearing on labor law reform, with GOP panel members seeking the union leader’s views on a range of issues.

Seven of the nine Republicans who appeared at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing Wednesday directed their first questions at O’Brien. Chairman Bill Cassidy (La.) didn’t begin with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters chief but still queried him, and only Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) ignored him completely.

GOP lawmakers asked O’Brien about topics that included the importance of union contracts and worker training, the threats posed by emerging technology, corporate abuses of the H-1B Visa program, executive compensation at Amazon.com Inc., and more.

“You got any good ideas on how we might address the child-care issue, which is keeping good folks from participating” in the workforce, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) asked the Teamsters leader.

O’Brien’s standing has soared in Republican circles since his controversial speaking appearance at the Republican National Convention in 2024, a move that defied organized labor’s traditional allegiance to the Democratic Party. His endorsement of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to become Labor Secretary stood as an early sign of his sway with the Trump administration.

During the HELP Committee hearing, an exchange between O’Brien and Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) underscored the extent that GOP lawmakers have embraced the Teamsters boss.

The two had squared off in a 2023 hearing, with Mullin calling O’Brien a “thug” and challenging him to a fist fight. They both stood up and prepared to face off in the hearing room, but then cooler heads prevailed.

“I guess everybody’s surprised to see Sean and I on the same page, considering the last time we were in this hearing room,” Mullin said Wednesday. “Sean, I’d like to welcome you back to the committee and call you my friend.”

After the two touched on reviving the American shipbuilding industry, Mullin asked if he would shake his hand in agreement to work on the issue together.

“For the record, I’m not a hugger, but I’ll shake your hand,” O’Brien said.

Scant Consensus on Reform

The hearing, convened to discuss labor law reform, didn’t produce much consensus on what needs to change in that area.

O’Brien repeatedly endorsed a bipartisan bill championed by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) that would to speed up first contracts for new unions. The measure calls for deadlines to start bargaining and reach a consensus, with disputes going to mediation and then binding arbitration if agreements aren’t reached.

Workers at a Volkswagen facility in Tennessee that unionized in April 2024 would have a first contract if Hawley’s proposal was law, said Steve Cochran, a member of the United Auto Workers bargaining committee at the plant.

But Cassidy’s questions on the issue signaled his opposition to the bill, a significant obstacle due to his control as chair over what the committee considers.

Former National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo advocated for better funding of the agency and a “major overhaul” of the National Labor Relations Act, while adding that further reform should be under discussion, including implementing sectoral bargaining.

“The problems are that neither the NLRA nor the NLRB are fully empowering workers and protecting them in this country,” said Abruzzo, now a senior adviser for the Communications Workers of America and of counsel with Bush Gottlieb.

Former NLRB Chair Marvin Kaplan, on the other hand, said that “the system works” and significant reform isn’t necessary.

The best way for the HELP Committee to address problems related to federal labor law is to make sure the NLRB has a enough members to fully function, said Kaplan, now an attorney with Jackson Lewis PC.

The panel is scheduled to vote Thursday on advancing two NLRB member nominees—who would restore the board’s quorum if confirmed—as well as the candidate for the agency’s general counsel.