During the whole hearing, Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin criticized the Teamster’s president, Sean O’Brien, for his “lack of decorum.”
On Wednesday, Republican Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin attacked Teamsters president Sean O’Brien at a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. The two men had been arguing for a while about how O’Brien and the other union members make less than he does.
During the minute-long conversation, Mullin, the owner of a plumbing business, said, “I’m not against unions.” He then said that he and his employees had been mistreated by unions after taking over contracts that had been given to union workers.
It got so bad that they started coming to my house. In my mind, they are leaning on my cars for support. I don’t like fighting at all, and sometimes I go out of my way to avoid them. Not important to me. When are you going to stop bothering the people who work for me?” That’s what Mullin said.
As in, “Then what? Maybe to have higher wage rates? He said, “Of course, it’s because we had better benefits and they didn’t have to pay for your people’s high salaries.” He then asked O’Brien what his salary was.
Even though O’Brien started to answer, Mullin cut him off and said that his income for 2019 was $193,000. This is a lot more than the average salary for truck drivers, which is $35,000. Then he asked O’Brien, “And what do you bring to the table?”
On the other hand, that’s not true. Just the facts, please. When O’Brien said, “That’s not right,” they both started talking over each other.
Mullin said, “Maybe you shouldn’t be in your job if you don’t know your facts,” after repeating the wage numbers he had just given. His next question to O’Brien was about why he was getting paid so much.
“What work have you made? One job?” he asked. beyond just stealing money from someone else.
As committee chair Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., tried to stop the back-and-forth so O’Brien could talk, O’Brien said, “You’re out of line, dude.”
Sanders was ignored as they argued loudly over each other. Finally, Mullin said, “Sir, you need to shut your mouth because you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The person who replied asked, “Are you going to tell me to shut up?” O’Brien fought back and then made fun of Mullin’s earlier claim that he wasn’t “scared” of a fight.
Sanders finally told them to stop, and Mullin was told to let O’Brien speak.
O’Brien, though, kept making fun of Mullin and said, “I thought about how this structure would affect my pay (or remuneration, if you’ve been keeping up). I’m sure that I work more hours than you do. This is the same as working for two days straight.
Mullin said that the idea was unrealistic, and O’Brien agreed with him, saying, “That’s right.”
Mullin told the man, “Sir, you don’t even know what hard work is.”
Then, O’Brien said that “most” tractor-trailer drivers make more than $100,000 a year. The two continued to argue about money while also making personal attacks on each other.
During the hearing, Mullin stated Fox News Digital in which he criticized O’Brien for his “lack of decorum” and Sanders for not saying anything about it.
Mullin said that what the union leaders did today was typical of how they try to scare people into joining unions that some employees might think are against their best interests. I think it’s a shame that Chairman Sanders didn’t say anything about how rude the witnesses were.
To quote one company CEO: “As a business owner, I’ve seen firsthand how unions try to scare away workers who are offered better pay and benefits outside of the union. Union leaders often forget that protecting workers’ rights also means protecting the rights of those who don’t want to join a union. If union leaders like the ones we saw today continue to fight hard against basic reforms like private ballots and the right to work, I will have a big problem.
Logic says that workers and their families in the United States should have full control over their money. Also, “as a senator from Oklahoma, a thriving right-to-work state, I will always protect employees’ right to decide for themselves whether or not to join a union,” he said.