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Teamsters President Sounds Off On Controversial H-1B Visa Program: ‘Displaces U.S. Workers’

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Teamsters President Sean O’Brien became the latest labor voice to weigh in on the raging debate over current levels of “high-skilled” legal immigration, stating that unchecked importation of foreign labor undermines American workers. Debate over the H-1B visa program — which is supposed to be reserved for “high-skilled” legal immigrants to fill supposed shortages — erupted across the Trump base last month. Several top Trump allies, including X owner Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, have argued in favor of H-1B expansion. Others, including former White House chief advisor Steve Bannon and current advisor Stephen Miller, have countered by pointing to widespread abuse of the program by leading firms.

Starting on Christmas Day, the Trump base has been intensely debating the H-1B visa issue after former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Tesla, X and SpaceX chief Elon Musk argued in favor of increasing legal immigration to the United States. The focus was quickly centered on the H-1B visas in particular, which are supposed to be given out to high-skilled immigrants to fill critical positions.

The H-1B visa is separate from the O-1 visa, which is reserved for immigrants with “extraordinary” abilities.

Those critical of the current state of the H-1B visa program have pointed to the fact that companies have laid off American workers in favor of paying foreigners at lower rates. Internet sleuths also pointed out that companies are seeking H-1b visas for jobs that fall well below the threshold of the “high-skilled” worker, as companies have been caught seeking immigrants for cashier positions, assistant track coaches, and entry level accountants.

Wake Forest University has sought to fill several low-level positions with immigrant workers

As the debate raged, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — who is largely viewed as the leader of the progressive movement in the U.S. Senate — argued against expansion of the visa program in a lengthy X post of his own. “Elon Musk is wrong. The main function of the H-1B visa program is not to hire ‘the best and the brightest,’ but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad,” Sanders wrote. “The cheaper the labor they hire, the more money the billionaires make.”

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O’Brien soon agreed with Sanders’ post in a statement of his own, becoming the first major labor leader to weigh in on the contentious issue. “[Senator Sanders] is 100% right. The H-1B guest worker visa program displaces US workers and allows billionaire tech employers to exploit foreign workers,” he wrote.

Earlier this year, O’Brien drew the ire of the Democratic Party by becoming the first Teamsters president to speak at the Republican National Convention. Throughout his rousing speech, the labor leader praised a number of Republicans, including then-candidate Trump, for opening the convention’s doors to the Teamsters and listening to concerns from organized labor. O’Brien had long stated that he intended to address the Democratic National Convention as well — citing ideological diversity among union members — though Democratic Party leaders never got back to him after his RNC speech.

In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, O’Brien explained that Vice President Kamala Harris refused to sit for a full interview with union representatives. O’Brien noted that this is customary for any candidate seeking the union’s endorsement, adding that President-elect Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others had no issue with sitting for a full interview. President Biden, on the other hand, was only able to complete four questions before his aides pulled the plug on the interview. Union leadership then concluded that Biden “wasn’t the same man” and had shown evidence of cognitive decline, O’Brien told Carlson.

When Biden suspended his presidential campaign in July, Harris believed that she could count on the union for support, as the Teamsters have historically endorsed Democrats. She refused to sit for an interview for a number of weeks, however, leading O’Brien to believe that she felt she was above them and could order the union around. When she finally did agree to an interview Harris answered just four questions before smugly explaining that she would win “with to without” the Teamsters’ endorsement.

“It was insane behavior,” O’Brien said.



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