Sisters and Brothers, In the battle for labor rights, there are two sides.
On our side, Unions fight to provide workers with good living wages and benefits for the work they do. On the other side are the employers and corporations that tirelessly pursue the exploitation of workers. Reducing wages and benefits so that they can make more profits for their owners.
This week, these two forces went head-to-head at Senator Bernie Sander’s hearing on Union-busting. Millionaire Republican Senator & business owner Markwayne Mullin questions Teamsters President Sean O’Brien. Senator Mullin used his time to air typical union-busting talking points. Implying that Unions are not needed because employers treat their employees so well.
The Players
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, a fourth-generation Teamster, has tirelessly battled for workers and their rights since the age of 18. Sean was present and being questioned by Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, whose reported net worth is between $31.6 million to $75.6 million.
Watch Sean O’Brien call out senator Mullin for being a greedy CEO. Mullin claimed his salary was 50K a year. So how did he become a multi-millionaire?
Senator Mullin refused to engage in any meaningful dialog, instead expressing a laundry list of common Union-busting playbook points. At one point, Sean O’Brien called the Senator on his out-of-line, union-busting rhetoric, and the Senator got so frustrated he told Sean “you need to shut your mouth”. Watch below.
Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, whose reported net worth is between $31.6 million to $75.6 million, claims he only paid himself $50,000/year. Mullin, at the hearing, claimed he started his career with “nothing” or “less than nothing.” His version of “nothing” was to take over his father’s plumbing business which had six employees at the time.
Watch Senator Mullin state that inheriting a six-person company from his dad was starting with “less than nothing.” How many workers would have loved to have senator Mullin’s version of “nothing”? His entitled perspective shows how out of touch he is with the circumstances of everyday workers in America.
Watch Senator Mullin use grossly inaccurate data to justify his anti-Union line of inquiry and watch O’Brien call him on it.
It’s up to all of us to fight back. How? Be an active member & get involved.
Sisters and Brothers, it is important to take the lessons from this incident and always understand that if we don’t remain active and vigilant against employers, they will always have politicians like Senator Mullin and Lobbyists working endlessly to strip you of the good paying jobs and benefits we have fought so hard for.
Self-righteous businessmen like Senator Mullin and other millionaire businessmen will always feel entitled to take what they want from their employees. They don’t want you to unionize because it gives workers the power to fight on equal footing with employers who would otherwise hold all the power.
Be as active as possible in our Union; we need your participation to strengthen us as we continue the fight for Union members everywhere.