'Get wise': Labor reporter warns unions Trump is 'not your friend'

During the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, one of the more unlikely speakers was Teamsters President Sean O'Brien.

O'Brien, unlike most of the speakers, didn't endorse GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump but rather, spoke in general terms about how important the labor movement is to U.S. workers.

O'Brien's appearance at that convention drew a lot of criticism from liberals and progressives, who emphasized that the Republican Party — including Trump — has a very anti-union record.

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In a biting op-ed published by The Guardian on July 23, labor reporter Steven Greenhouse argues that featuring O'Brien at their convention doesn't make Republicans any less hostile to organized labor.

"When Teamsters President Sean O'Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention on opening night," Greenhouse explains, "it seemed to hint that the Republican Party — long a lapdog for corporate interests — was turning an important page and would stop being so hostile toward labor unions. But when Donald Trump gave his hugely divisive acceptance speech three days later, he seemed to forget he was supposed to act lovey-dovey toward labor unions."

Greenhouse adds, "The former president essentially kicked the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the teeth, and the UAW fired back by calling Trump the 'mascot and lapdog' of billionaires. During the unscripted, let-it-rip part of his speech, Trump lashed out at the UAW, seeming to suggest that the UAW was responsible for automakers building plants in Mexico."

Trump, Greenhouse notes, has a "nasty history of insulting and attacking labor leaders" — including the late AFL-CIO Secretary General Richard Trumka in 2018.

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"The U.S.' workers need leaders who push to lift their wages, increase worker safety, make childcare more affordable and fight to make unions stronger," Greenhouse writes. "Trump is in no way such a leader. As president, he did nothing to raise the minimum wage or make childcare more affordable."

The labor writer adds, "He weakened safety protections for many workers. His administration moved in dozens of ways to weaken labor unions. It's time that U.S. workers get wise to the fact Trump is not their friend."

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