Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement

Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien on Wednesday discussed the importance of rewarding skilled laborers and dismantling the corrupt independent contractor model during an infrastructure summit with employers and investors hosted by BlackRock in Washington, DC. Alongside North American Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey, National Electrical Contractors Association CEO David Long, and BlackRock’s Senior Managing Director John Kelly, O’Brien stressed the need for labor unions and hardworking rank-and-file union members to have a seat at the table as governments and large corporations invest in long-term infrastructure projects. The Teamsters leader spoke directly about the urgency to create new job opportunities for skilled workers in the AI age and establishing labor agreements for more workers that grow and protect guaranteed retirement benefits. “The amount of trust between capitalism and labor is probably at its lowest point in American history right now. If major corporations need more American workers to play a larger role in rebuilding this country, those employers better quickly learn how to respect and fairly compensate working people,” O’Brien told the crowd of executives. “Employers of all sizes and elected officials at all levels need to recognize how dangerous the independent contractor model is for the future of this country. We need more employers to do the right thing and actually invest in a motivated workforce committed to careers that sustain middle-class lifestyles. When we rebuild that kind of social infrastructure, you’ll find a reliable and stable workforce on every street corner in America.”