Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien will address the Irish Echo Labor Leaders' Awards in New York on 12 September - his first major engagement with Irish America since his whirlwind tour of Ireland in March.
Leading 1.3m members — representing, as the union declares, everyone from A to Z, airline pilots to zookeepers — O'Brien has campaigned vigorously to expand the union into more industries since his election to the union's top post in 2021.
In particular, as President, he has placed the unionization of global giant Amazon at the top of his priorities while also taking part in protests and pickets by Teamsters across the nation.
On his visit to Belfast this past March, he said: "Our greatest battle at the minute is our struggle to unionize Amazon. They are located all around the world, including here in Belfast, so labor needs to be organized in every global location as well."
Now in their 15th year, the Irish Echo Labor Awards are the largest gathering of Irish Americans in the labor movement. Among this year's honorees will be David O'Brien-Suetholz, General Counsel of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who will receive the 'Irish Peace & Unity Ambassador' award.
Echo publisher Máirtín Ó Muilleoir welcomed the commitment of President O'Brien to the Irish labor leaders awards event.
"Sean O'Brien is probably the busiest union leader in the US so for him to agree to address our annual event demonstrates his determination to spotlighting the contribution of the Irish to the American labor movement while also deepening his bonds with Ireland," he said.
Other honorees at the 12 September awards in the Edison Hotel, Manhattan, will be UA Local 21 welder Kansas Asadoorian, Thomas Cleary, President Local Union No. 3, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Greg Lalevee, Business Manager of Operating Engineers Local 852.
Also addressing the Irish Labor Awards, virtually, will be Gerry Adams, who has attended or spoken at everyone of the past 14 award ceremonies. During his Irish visit, President O'Brien interviewed Adams for his 'Better Bad Ideas' podcast (below).
A full list of honorees can be seen online while a limited number of tickets remain at this link.
