SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
In recent history, unions have overwhelmingly backed Democrats. And President Biden calls himself the most pro-union president ever. But at last night's Republican National Convention, for the first time, the head of the Teamsters had a prime speaking slot. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.
DON GONYEA, BYLINE: The Teamsters, with 1.3 million members, are one of the country's largest and most iconic unions. Teamsters president Sean O'Brien's presence at a Republican convention is story enough. Then he said this.
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SEAN O'BRIEN: President Trump had the backbone to open the doors to this Republican convention, and that's unprecedented.
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GONYEA: What followed from O'Brien was a call for both parties to support labor.
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O'BRIEN: American workers own this nation.
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O'BRIEN: We are not renters. We are not tenants. But the corporate elite treat us like squatters, and that is a crime.
GONYEA: O'Brien did point out that decades ago, the union did endorse Republicans Nixon, Reagan and George H. W. Bush, but more recently, every Democratic nominee since Bill Clinton has won their backing. According to labor analyst Harley Shaiken, O'Brien's speech ignored the history of Donald Trump's shortcomings with labor.
HARLEY SHAIKEN: To court workers is very different than being pro-labor.
GONYEA: For example, during the big United Auto Workers strike last year, Trump gave a speech near Detroit ostensibly in support of the strikers, but he did it at a nonunion auto plant.
SHAIKEN: The rhetoric comes easy, and the rhetoric can sometimes be appealing. But when there's no follow-through, it's very damaging.
GONYEA: While O'Brien's speech did not include an actual endorsement, Shaiken says it sent a clear message to his members...
SHAIKEN: If you're leaning toward Trump, go right ahead and push the button.
GONYEA: ...Especially when O'Brien praised Trump after the events of this weekend in Pennsylvania.
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O'BRIEN: In light of what happened to him on Saturday, he has proven to be one tough SOB.
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GONYEA: In the spirit of working with both parties, Sean O'Brien has also asked to speak at the Democratic National Convention next month, but he says he's not yet heard back on that request. The Biden campaign did send out a reaction via email saying, quote, "Donald Trump does not care about workers or their families, and he never has."
Don Gonyea, NPR News, Milwaukee.
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