By Sean M. O’Brien, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Americans spent 2024 being carpet-bombed by explosive political messaging. For months, we sustained a torrent of television, radio, and social media ads—all made by political professionals—foretelling the end of the world if the other side won.

Despite raising and spending $1.65 billion, and outspending her opponent by nearly $650 million, Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris failed to address, or even acknowledge, the most important issues facing working people in our country.

In the wake of their electoral ass-kicking, the Democrats continue handwringing over messaging without exploring the root causes of their defeat. They continue to be more worried about what they should say than what they should do.

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Leadership requires action over words. Promoting the economy without recognizing the millions of Americans still being forced to choose between food and medicine is nonsensical. Listening to the liberal elite contort themselves trying to commiserate with working people is ridiculous. The Harris campaign relied on a cadre of advisors from the Uber, Goldman Sachs, Google, Meta, and Apple tech elite while ignoring the truck drivers, warehouse workers, public employees, and others they lauded as “essential workers” just three years ago.

If they listened to workers and took action, the messaging would come easily.

Republicans face a similar predicament, particularly now that they control both chambers of Congress and the White House. They spent the last 12 months running as the party of working people. The 2024 election gave American voters a born-again GOP willing to fight for the working class. Now comes the tricky part. It’s time to deliver. Because salvation doesn’t come by faith alone.

There are many “institutional” Republicans who have spent their careers bashing unions and ignoring working people. Are they prepared to fulfill the promises they were elected on? If not, the 2024 landslide will bury them in the next electoral cycle.

American citizens are fed up with the same old merry-go-round of half-truths massaged to present the illusion of action. Workers are not stupid. They are sick and tired of being talked down to by supposedly sophisticated ponderers, pundits, and pollsters. Whenever some talking head babbles incessantly on cable news about messaging, America tunes out. The mainstream media continues to fade into irrelevancy because no one believes it anymore. The networks are tanking and print news subscriptions are shrinking. Why? Because they offer exactly what the beltway insiders serve up and ignore the political realities of everyday voters.

In the three years I’ve been in D.C., I’ve seen how Congress works. It’s sad and infuriating. Legislators are running on a hamster wheel of ineptitude. Shouting at each other while smiling for the cameras. I often have the feeling the motto is: “Look busy. Do nothing.”

Here’s my message to both parties: forget the past and lead. These folks can learn from the union movement. Democracy is very direct in the Teamsters. As a local union leader, I ran for office every three years. It took just two members to nominate an opponent. So as an elected leader you learn to serve your members. You either organize and get good contracts or you’re out.

Before every contract negotiation we have proposal meetings where the affected workers gather and share their priorities and concerns for the contract. We conduct surveys and give every member the opportunity to provide their personal input.

Armed with this direct information, we craft proposals based on what people actually want. We create concrete solutions to problems and then negotiate with the employer and come to agreement. All with a deadline.

Both parties are at crossroads. They are competing for the same base of voters: working Americans. They now must listen to them and create concrete solutions to their problems.

The working-class electorate isn’t loyal to either party. Like the billionaires and their millionaire handmaidens that have tried to buy our nation, working-class people are loyal to their own interests. They want safe communities, good jobs, and futures for their children.

Stop looking for the perfect message about how to tell people what you’re going to do. Instead, do something and then tell them you did it. It’s not difficult.

Leaders lead with projects and working people have made clear that they want some basic things, like:

True bankruptcy reform;
Banning dark money PACs;
Reforming labor law;
Reindustrializing America;
Building roads, bridges, train lines, and pipelines for the common good.

Leadership is not about having the right message. It’s about the right action. Take the action and the message will follow. It’s time to dispense with big ideas. It’s time to get to work.

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