In today’s News & Commentary, Teamsters president Sean O’Brien to speak at the RNC, some red states rollback underage work permit requirements, and the labor movement mourns the passing of Jane McAlevey. 

Controversially, Teamsters president Sean O’Brien will be speaking at the Republican National Convention this week. Earlier this year, O’Brien met with former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort and then brought him to a Teamsters executive board meeting to discuss labor issues and an endorsement. The Teamsters president, who requested to speak at both parties’ conventions, has framed the choice as a thorough engagement in the democratic process and an effort to maintain a relationship with whoever may win the presidential election.

However, the decision has generated criticism, both inside and outside of the union. Earlier this year, James Curbeam, the national chairman of the Teamsters National Black Caucus, responded to O’Brien’s meeting with Trump with a letter to Teamsters saying “We will not allow the working-class labor movement to be destroyed by a scab masquerading as a pro-union advocate after doing everything in this power to destroy the very fabric of unions.” Further, the rest of organized labor still stands firmly behind President Joe Biden (or, as Holt wrote Friday, at least whoever may be the Democratic nominee). Some Democrats feel betrayed after they passed the Butch Lewis Act, providing relief to struggling union pension funds, a primary goal of the Teamsters. The union is still undergoing a protracted process to determine who it will endorse, which union leadership has called the most democratic and transparent in its history though some Teamsters have reported being retaliated against for criticizing O’Brien’s overtures to Trump. O’Brien will be speaking during the primetime 10 pm slot on Monday.

Across the country, Republican-led states are rolling back work permit requirements for minors and their employers. Alabama, Arkansas, and Iowa are among the states that have ended the work permit requirements, arguing they are unnecessary red tape. The same was tried, unsuccessfully, in Missouri, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Critics have argued the permit process allows states to monitor youth employment and educate teen workers, their parents, and their employers about regulations and thus proactively prevent violations. Indeed, states with permitting requirements report significantly less child labor violations. Other youth work protections repealed recently include work-hour rules in Florida and hazardous work limits in Iowa. These changes have coincided with an increase in child labor violations, which other states, such as Colorado and Illinois, have responded to by strengthening regulations and imposing harsher penalties. 

Lastly, the labor movement lost a giant last weekend with the passing of organizer, author, and educator Jane McAlevey. Beautiful eulogies and tributes for her and her work poured out this week, including from Alex Press, Sarah Jaffe, Margot Roosevelt, and D.D. Guttenplan. She set high expectations and insisted on effective strategies because she truly believed an organized working class could win – she surely usually did. For those looking to learn more about her teachings, her books are available on her website.