'Triggering this GOP loser': Teamsters president praised after heated exchange with Republican senator

08 March 2023

During a Senate HELP Committee hearing on Wednesday, March 8, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) listened to opposing views from Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) and Teamsters President Sean O'Brien. Mullin, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for ten years before being sworn into the U.S. Senate in January, and O'Brien debated the value of labor unions during the hearing. And O'Brien was vehemently critical of the 45-year-old Mullin, who formerly ran a company that employed non-union workers.

During their heated exchange, O'Brien told Mullin, "We hold greedy CEOs like yourself accountable." And Mullin indignantly responded, "You're calling me a greedy CEO?"

O'Brien doubled down, saying, "Oh yeah, you are. You want to tap my salary, I'll tap yours."

When Mullin claimed that he "kept" his "salary down to about 50,000 a year" because he "invested every penny into" the company, O'Brien replied, "You mean you hid money."

After Mullin left the hearing, O'Brien continued to outline the benefits of unions — which, he told senators, not only give members a path to a "middle-class lifestyle," but also, offer inexperienced workers valuable training and "apprenticeship" programs so that they can improve their skills and command higher pay.

O'Brien and others tweeted his argument with Mullin, and Twitter users had plenty of reactions.

Jamie Hardwell, a Teamster, posted, "Sean, you did a great job today! I'm so proud to be called a Teamster!!!"

@FlatCircle8 clearly believed that O'Brien won the argument with Mullin, posting, "LMAO triggering this GOP loser is awesome."

People For Bernie, @People4Bernie, an alliance of Sanders supporters, tweeted, "@SenMullin is just another corrupt boss rigging the system against workers. While we fight for the Workplace Democracy Plan at the federal level, trifecta Democratic states must expand the ability of workers to collectively bargain. #UnionsForAll."

O'Brien, tweeting an October 2022 article published by Tulsa World, noted, "For the record, @SenMullin saw his reported assets balloon from a range of $7.3 million to $29.9 million at the end of 2020 to a range of $31.6 million to $75.6 million."

Twitter user @IanMcBein, in response to Mullin's $50,000 figure, wrote, "What do you bet his construction company was an S Corp and while his salary may have been $50k his profit distributions were likely much higher." And @Broncos2290 posted, "Shows how Republicans don't care about USA workers and always defend the interest of very wealthy CEOs."

Tweeting a March 2014 article by journalist Ed O'Keefe for the Washington Post, Twitter user David Hill @davehill77, commented, "$50,000 my a**."

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