Mr. President, any reaction to the Teamsters decision not to endorse? No. They were. It's a great honor. They're not going to endorse the Democrats. That's a big thing. And this is the first time in, I guess, 50, 60 years that that's happened. Democrats automatically have the Teamsters. [00:00:16] They took a vote, and I guess I was at 60% or more. And that's a great honor. I mean, it's really I've had a lot of Teamsters work for me. A lot of the concrete trucks they built, all these buildings that you see in New York City, the Teamsters. Well, back in September, Donald Trump stated it was an honor, [00:00:34] an absolute honor that the Teamsters broke their long tradition of endorsing the Democratic candidate for president and instead chose not to endorse anyone in the 2024 presidential race. And now the president elect could reward the Teamsters by essentially choosing [00:00:53] a labor secretary that Teamsters President Sean O'Brien favors. Now, I want to be clear. No promises have been made. Okay. But if this works out in the way that Sean O'Brien is hoping for, I think that this story is a case study, [00:01:10] a lesson in political maneuvering, and what you can do to win, even in the face of a Republican administration. So with that in mind, O'Brien is in talks with Trump about appointing former Republican Congresswoman Lori Chavez, Deremer from Oregon. [00:01:30] So although she's a Republican, she was one of only three GOP congresspeople in three people in her party overall to co-sponsor the Pro act, which would increase penalties for violating workers rights. [00:01:45] It would also prohibit captive audience meetings, and it would also facilitate initial collective bargaining agreements. And she's very pro-labor. Okay, this isn't like a one time thing she did to appear a little more moderate. She has a long history of supporting unions, supporting workers and labor. [00:02:05] And so I'm kind of excited to see how this plays out. So she also stood alone as the only Republican to vote against the small business before bureaucrats act. And that would have increased the amount of revenue necessary for the NLRB to even [00:02:21] get involved in a labor dispute by ten. Okay, so I love the fact that she voted against that. And her father was actually a teamster. So maybe that's where she feels some commitment to union workers. [00:02:37] And she's courted union support in the past. She also co-sponsored bills supported by pilot and flight attendant unions and railroad unions, as well as a bill to allow workers to receive tax deductions for union dues. And she has written or signed onto several letters Supporting unions [00:02:57] in their negotiations, urging the Port of Portland to end restrictions on picketing at the Portland airport and asking for increased funding for the National Labor Relations Board. Now, she has been criticized as well. I think the criticism is not that great considering, you know, all the wins that [00:03:17] she has piled up in regard to, you know, not just talking the talk, but walking the walk when it comes to protecting labor and wanting to have, you know, more safeguards to protect workers from, you know, union busting and other exploitative activities. [00:03:33] So Oregon Capital Chronicle writes that when her fellow Republicans on the health, employment, Labor and Pensions Committee subcommittee held a series of union bashing meetings over the past year, she actually didn't show up and join Democrats or Democratic representatives [00:03:51] in speaking up for unions. But here are what the meetings were about specifically. So one of them was titled NLRB overreach Trampling on Workers Rights and Fostering Unfairness. Another was big labor lies exposing union tactics [00:04:08] to undermine free and fair elections. And another was titled Protecting Workers and Small Businesses from Biden's attack on worker free choice and Economic Growth. So she didn't go to these hearings, but I'm less worried about that. I'm way more worried about how she votes and what kind of bills she co-sponsored. [00:04:28] And when it comes to the issue of labor, she's actually been really good in the bills that she's co-sponsored and the votes that she has taken. The fact that she was one of only three Republicans who voted in favor of the Pro act, I think shows that she's serious about wanting [00:04:45] to increase labor rights in this country. And so now let's go back to Sean O'Brien and the whole political debacle that ensued following his decision to speak at the Republican National Convention, he was given a prime time speaking role on the first night [00:05:01] of the Republican National Convention, and his speech, in my opinion, was fantastic. I found it to be fantastic. Then I still find it fantastic. People were really upset because you're not supposed to celebrate anything that happens at the Republican National Convention. [00:05:16] I do not subscribe to that, and I especially don't subscribe to that now that I consider myself unaligned with either political party. Okay, Democrats talk a lot of stuff about how they're going to look out for workers, but I'm kind of tired of all the deal making that actually goes on [00:05:34] with financial institutions and other corporations. You know, on behalf of their, you know, donors. But if you see something good happening on the right, why not celebrate it? I thought that speech was great. And it's not like Sean O'Brien was standing there saying glowing things about the Republican Party. [00:05:50] He was talking about corporate greed. He was spreading a message in a typically hostile environment about things that American voters, generally speaking, need to hear. And if they've already heard it, feel relieved to hear on such a big stage, [00:06:07] on such a big night. And so he got a lot of hate for that. He also got a lot of hate after the Teamsters refused to endorse either candidate in this presidential election. But I think that the leadership of the union made that decision after noticing that the majority of the actual workers, the actual Teamsters, [00:06:27] supported Donald Trump over Kamala Harris. So I don't know. I don't know how I would feel if, let's say it's the 2016 presidential election. Let's say I'm in a union and the union leadership decides to endorse Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. [00:06:44] I mean, I can't imagine that ever happening. But imagine if that happened and the majority of the actual workers who have joined the union overwhelmingly support Bernie Sanders. Like, I'd be pretty upset to see the endorsement for Hillary Clinton. So just something to consider when it comes to the rationale behind not [00:07:01] endorsing a presidential candidate. But look, Donald Trump is very transactional. And so favor for a favor, he seems to be in favor of that kind of, treatment or that kind of method of doing things. And so O'Brien refusing to endorse Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, [00:07:22] just not endorsing either, candidate, could actually give him some leverage here in ensuring that someone who's far more, you know, far more in favor of protecting labor gets that secretary seat or secretary role. [00:07:40] And so we don't know yet. I just want to say that this is something that is developing, and there is some likelihood that someone who, yes, is a Republican, but, is in favor of protecting workers could get that role. And if that happens, that could mean that some of this political maneuvering was successful. [00:07:57] And sometimes, guys, political maneuvering is more important than purity, if you catch my drift. We got to be smarter. We got to be scrappier. We got to stop being so goddamn judgmental, okay? If we find other ways of winning, other ways of protecting workers, [00:08:14] which should be our number one priority, we should go for it. And I hope Sean O'Brien gets what he wants. He's gotten a lot of hate, but if he actually gets a pro-labor secretary in that position under the Trump administration, that would be a major win. [00:08:32] Hey, thanks for watching the video. We really appreciate it, guys, and we appreciate it if you become members, because that allows us to be independent, honest, progressive, all the things that you don't get from corporate media and all of that is because of you guys. Hit the join button below and become one of us. Become a young Turk.