Inside the Power of Unions | Chris Swanson & Shawn O’Brien (Part 2)

In Part 2, Chris continues the conversation with Shawn O’Brien, diving deeper into the future of unions and the evolving role of the Teamsters. They discuss current challenges facing workers, the importance of strong leadership, and how organized labor is adapting to meet the demands of today’s workforce.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

It is amazing. Marty Walsh and Peter Katushion, all the people that when I was on your podcast were naming that we know what is so special about Medford and Boston, Massachusetts. I mean, other than we're good looking.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Um no, I think you know what I think, I think, you know, so Medford is like just a mile out outside of Boston. So if you if you ever Boston's a small, small place, and I live in the North End right now, which is the It's kind of split in two, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Two different counties.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Um Suffolk County. So you got Suffolk County, and then you've got Middlesex County. Yeah. Uh Middlesex County borders like Medford borders, like it's about a mile outside of Boston proper. But um, you know, you had the orange line. So you could go anywhere with 25 cents. You could go from Medford all the way to Roxbury. But you know, the one thing that you a lot of relationships were built um was because of sports. You always played sports against different different teams, you got to know a bunch of different people, but um no Boston's great. I love it. I mean, it's uh I I I love just being living there, I love the city, it's very clean, but there's a lot of good people, and like I said, it's so small, you know everybody. I mean, New York City, and you got the five boroughs, the place is massive, right? Right? When when when you talk about Boston, you've got Boston proper, and then you've got Greater Boston, which was Medford Somerville, and most people they they made the big move from, you know, like my parents made the big move from Charlestown, a half a mile north. Half a mile to Medford, right? And we were we were all in city neighborhoods, so it was crazy. But you grew up, yeah, pretty much. Yeah, we didn't know any better.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Let me add you, when I was driving, I was with Catusion, I was driving through Boston, I'm looking, I did not realize where the Red Sox play. It's like it's it's like right in the middle of everything, and there's shops all around. Yeah, it's unbelievable. What makes that particular location so special? Is that truly the number one sports venue in all of Boston? I would say, I mean, the Red Sox is historic. Yeah, what about the garden park?

SPEAKER_01 1:59

The Boston Garden, well, that's a new garden. That that is that was built in 1994 in front of the old garden. Got it. And a matter of fact, I hauled the stale into that uh working for Shauna Cena Hearn. We were hauling stale into the the new garden. Um no, I think Boston sports teams are historic. Yeah, I think the most historic venue is Fenway Park. And so I live probably a two-mile walk. So I'm I'm just on the outskirts of the North End. I live the Boston Gardens at the end of my street. And if I it would take me, it would be quicker for me to walk to Fenway Park than try and drive. Gosh. Yeah, but but no, Fenway Park, that whole area. They were talking about moving Fenway Park like 20 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Oh my god, it would have been a riot.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

It would be an uproar. Yeah. I mean, it's such a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

I mean, even historically in the American Revolution and you know, the Boston Tea Party and all the things that happened like that, that was the birthplace of freedom. Right. Right. And uh and when you look at Boston and you hear the accent, they're just something special. You know, I I would say Midwest, we work hard, but we have no accent. You know, we have no you have a distinct thing.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Detroit, I mean Michigan. Yeah, you guys have you guys kind of like a twang to your voice. Twang. Like a little twang. I don't know how to describe it. Yeah, but it's it's identifiable. Yeah, yeah, it's definitely not cool.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

It's not like an Australian accent, a southern accent. Well, you can an English accent, a Boston fake a British accent. Yeah, they they know it'd it'd be like me going into Boston and saying that I'm from Boston. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

You how you could take you would look, we'd have to get rid of the cowboy boots, but I mean I think you would there you go. No, but you would you would you get the faux hawk going on, man? You got like listen, I could just throw you in a faux hawk. Throw you throw them in a pair of Travis Scott's, right? And like a Lulu.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Listen, I don't think people realize that Sean O'Brien is a shoe junkie. I am now because of my girlfriend. Yeah. I mean, you were wearing a pair of like $700 shoes when I saw you in DC. Yeah, we don't pay $700 for them, though. You gotta go on the stock action. You know the game.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

You just gotta track them and all that stuff. But yeah, again, I mean, I like I like sneakers. It's you do. Everybody has their voice.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

And I'm an Area guy from Buckle. You know, I've told them. It's gonna be about $500. They're $100 from the buckle. I was told that I'm too old to shop with the buckle, but shout out to the buckle. Everything I'm wearing now is the buckle. Everything I'm wearing is the buckle. You actually had a custom set of Teamster sneakers on when I saw you.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

Air Force Ones. They were legit. Air Force Ones. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, no, you gotta look good, you know. You gotta look, you got the feet, feet gotta look good. That's all that matters. So if you have a came, like you would you got the you got the attitude to be from Boston.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

You got the look. Just gotta get rid of the boots. I got it, I got it. Next time I'm gonna go.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Get rid of the boots, we'll throw a pair of Air Force Ones on you or uh be Travis Scott's.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

I can't do anything with the hair. This is all I got. This is all I got. That's Boston hair.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Yeah. But I can't come, I can't talk about hair.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Grass doesn't grow on a busy street.

SPEAKER_00 4:45

I get it. I get it. It doesn't grow in the month either. Hey, uh, you know, when I when I talk to you and I watch the news throughout the whole country and you talk about ask for forgiveness versus, you know, uh permission, uh, you live your life just doing you. And uh I have such mad respect for that because I think guys like us that really too love people, like we are not part of the establishment. We're not part of, you know, following in line. I mean, we're made for executive leadership. You are the youngest president out of local 25. You're elected five terms, you know, you challenged Jimmy P and you, you know, won the presidency after he renounced. Like, is this truly like what an original Jimmy R. Hoffa leader is built like? Are you like the next generation of historic leadership? Um, look, there's only one James R.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

Hoffa, and that's all it's ever gonna be. Mad respect for him. Um, I I I don't know what the next, you know, I don't know what the next legacy labor leader is. I just want to focus on, you know, I I don't care about my legacy, I don't care about, you know, um a lot of people take positions and make decisions based upon how that's gonna make them look. I don't ever want to be that guy. I want to do the job that I was elected to do, represent the people that I'm responsible for, and at the end of the day, if people are happy, great. Do I want to create a legacy for myself? Absolutely not. I want to create a legacy for the Teamsters Union, and I want to make sure that I hold true to the oath that I took to protect, preserve, and improve, but more importantly, leave this organization better than I found it. And I tell people all the time, they're like, How long are you gonna do this for? I'm gonna I'm gonna do it as long as they will have me. But I will say this if there's someone that has a better idea, a better strategy, and a better way to do things, I'm gonna acquiesce and walk away with my hell head held high. And that's what it's about. I mean, yeah, look, I this time, I mean, my life is complete chaos. All self-inflicted, right? But it's good chaos. It's like you're not gonna be beholden to anybody, you're not gonna tow a line, a party line, whether it's politics or anything else, unless you know it's in the best interest of your members. And, you know, I've gotten criticized for our style. I don't mind taking risks. Uh, and you know, some of those risks pay off, some of them don't. Um, but at the end of the day, it's like you gotta do what's in the best interest of your members, not yourself andor your legacy.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

Who do you run ideas by? I don't need names, but like when you're thinking of something, because I I honestly I tell people I have a lot of people around me, but I do my best thinking in motion. I do my best thinking running or training or on a bike, and I listen to what everybody's, you know, it's almost like taking a uh like a lot of noise in your head, but there's something inside of me that just says, Chris, this is the path. And I have people I bounce ideas.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Yeah, you you know, you know, like I I don't know if this happens to you, but I do have I do have about three or four really solid people that you know we don't agree with each other on a on a lot of things. Uh but we do have these sessions where we bounce things off of each other. Um but just like you, like I will be at the gym focused and thinking about a situation and or hopefully a solution to a problem. And you you're talking about it constantly with your team. You know, like I've got a great chief of staff, I've got a great general secretary, treasurer, great uh general counsel. But at the end of the day, ultimately it's your decision, right? And I'll do the same thing you do. I'll be at the gym, I'll be, you know, on an airplane, I'll be wherever. And then that it'll click. It'll click, it clicks, like you know when it clicks, like there's times of we've come to um collaborate on an issue, and you know, a decision will be made. But I'll say, like, hold off. Let's hold off before we do anything. Okay, and then you know, I might be at the gym, or I might be going for a long walk, or I might be driving in my vehicle. Yes, and you're thinking about it, and then it clicks. It's like, no, that's not the right decision. This is what we need to do, this is what we need to do. You know it though. Yeah, you absolutely know it. Yeah. And sometimes when it clicks, it may not be the most comfortable position to be in, but you know, at the you know, at the conclusion, there is gonna be favorable resolution. But yeah, I mean, everybody bounces everything, everybody has opinions, and I love it. Like, I I tell people all the time, I love arguing. Like, I love like that's stupid. Why would you do that? I'm like, okay, tell me why it's stupid. Yeah. And then you just you go back and forth, and then you end up after having that debate, dialogue, and disagreement, yeah, you can formulate it, but you know, it pops.

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Yeah. It pops. And you got a peace about it. I would say, you know, let peace be your compass. You know, the Bible says a peace beyond all understanding. Man, when I have a peace about something, even if there's chaos around me, I'm like, this is where we're going. I I know that you don't see it, but you got to trust me in the way I see it.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

But but I'm more comfortable when when when you're in a in your like you said, the peace, right? There is always a calmness in the midst of chaos, even when it's around you. And it's like it's like you got tunnel vision. Like when we were doing the UPS agreement, you know, there was noise everywhere coming from all angles, you know, members' concern, you know, the business community attacking us, Wall Street. And I just remember like just being in that moment in that zone, and you're focused on the task at hand, and that noise is loud, but it's not distracting. You just focus. That's the best failing in the world. That's better than any anything in the world. That's beautiful, man.

SPEAKER_00 10:21

Um if Jimmy Hoth was here today, what would he say about your leadership? What do you think he would say?

SPEAKER_01 10:30

Oh, I would hope he'd criticize the shit out of me because I deserve it. Um, I would hope, I would hope he would say, you know, because I'm I'm a street guy. Um you know, I think he would he would embrace our leadership style as far as being aggressive, uh influential. I think he would probably uh he would probably like the way that we operate as far as you know, stating our intentions and you know, politically it's a different era than it was back then. Um so I he would probably say, you know, maybe have an opinion on you know some of the positions we've taken. Um but I think overall he would like the leadership style, being aggressive, being in your face, getting the best contracts, organizing members. Um, you know, a lot a lot different than his son was, and I don't mean that disrespectfully, you know.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Uh Junior was effective at his time. Did I agree with everything he did? No. And part of that was because, you know, he didn't he never worked as a rank and file teamster. And that that means a lot. When you're leading an organization that you actually came from ground up, that's right. You know, you gain a tremendous amount of respect. People may not like you, but they're gonna respect the fact that you came up from the ranks. And you know, that was a knock on on Hoffa Jr. Um, but you know, he he took it to a certain point. I think he stayed too long. You know, that that's what happens, you know, when you talk about people around you on your team. I hope if I get to a point where I'm not effective, my team, my confidants, instead of propping me up, telling me I'm the greatest thing in the world, will tell me, listen, John Time, you need to go if I can't see it on my own.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

There's a great line of the dark night. We talked about movies offline and how many movies you've been a part of because the Teamsters haul the sets in the movie The Dark Knight when uh you know Bruce Wayne is talking at a dinner table and they're having a conversation and and the comment was made, don't stay so long that the hero becomes the villain. Right. Well, that's the that gets back to your question earlier.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

Like people chase their own legacy. Yeah. I I I don't want a legacy. No. You know what I want? I want at the end of the day, when I'm no longer here or I'm not in the teamster union, I just want people to say, hey, he was a good guy. That's a home run. That's worth a million bucks. Man. Your reputation, you know.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

I tell you this, you're a good guy. I see it live. I try to be. And uh just the stories you talked about. Do you get tired of linking and explaining Jimmy Hoffa with the Teamsters? There's such a uh uh a passionate desire for people to know what happened. Obviously, here in Michigan, he was kidnapped, never to be found again. Do you get tired of talking about the legacy or no, not at all?

SPEAKER_01 13:13

I mean, look, he he put the teamsters on the map. I mean, built the middle class. You know, I'm I'm just, you know, trying to trying to create some more roads for us, right? But no, I mean the history is important. Right. And if we are gonna train this next generation of Teamsters Union members, they have to understand what how we got to this point and why we're here. Outside of where do we need to go, you gotta look back in your history for some guidance, and there's no better guidance than uh Jimmy Hoffa Sr. I mean, that guy was an icon, he was a beast. He had such good vision instinct. Um, I don't get tired of it. And it's important because if you ask a 20-year-old person who's Jimmy Hoffa, they don't know. Right? So it's like because we're not teaching labor history in schools or anything else. And you know, the movies came out in the 90s. I think the the the most recent one was The Irishman, where it prompted some interest. But you know, if you say to a 35-year-old uh and older and you say, you know, what do you do? Well, I'm the general president of the team, says, Oh, that was Hoffa. That was Jim Hoffa. Like everybody knows, you like that part of it. 18 or 30 year olds that yeah, you know, may not know who he was, but you know, they'll know the they'll know the villainous stories that are put out there about it.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

But you know, uh it's important to always talk about our history. Yeah. So uh two Hoffa questions then that people want to know, what do you think happened to him? I don't know. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

He c he clearly uh was a victim. Yeah. He was clearly a victim. Uh I mean you have all the stories and speculation. I mean, I think Frank Sharon wrote a vote, you know, I paint houses, you know, he's claiming, you know, in a dying declaration that he did it. I mean, you you just don't know. It's unfortunate because it I think I think the family, despite you know my difference of opinions with his son, I think the family would deserve and probably embrace some sort of closure to actually what happened and why did it happen. Um, you know, I I don't know. Yeah. What's the best Hoffa movie to you? I love the one with Jack Nicholson. Yeah. I mean, you know, the the Irishman was okay. I mean, I think it was a lot of fiction. I I like the uh when Jack Nicholson played Jimmy Hoffa. Jack Nicholson played Jimmy Hoffa. And uh it was just it just showed like him being in the streets, like jumping on trucks, jumping in with Danny DeVito. Um I mean, that's just that's the that's the grit.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

That's who he was.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

That's the grit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

Wow. Yep. When uh when you think about you know the next generation, we talk about labor, we talk about things, and you know, your growth coming up, the fact that you're fifth generation labor. Um, where is labor, where are the Teamsters 10 years from now?

SPEAKER_01 15:48

That's a great question. Um we're a little bit different than most because you know we have the ability and we have been organizing in all kinds of traditional industries and non-traditional industries. You know, AI and you know, this this um appetite for efficiencies and robotics and all this stuff. You know, if we're not if we're not vigilant and have a vision on creating jobs as a result of this, any union is gonna see decline. But I'm hopefully optimistic. We are working with a lot of these architects of AI because we do have a seat at the table now, that we are creating jobs as a result of of implementation of technology, who's gonna program these robots, who's gonna maintain them, uh, who's gonna build them, right? So there's always opportunities there. I think uh these data centers with all this AI, you're gonna see 25 to 30 years of work and development and creation of grids. I think you're always gonna see, you know, there's there's gonna be some growth, especially in the building trades, with a lot of these data centers. I've been working with closely with uh BlackRock and Blackstone, who are building all these data centers, and they just invested a hundred million dollars, BlackRock did, to train tradesmen because there's gonna be a shortage of trades. Now, AI is gonna wipe out a whole white-collar job uh tranche as far as analysts, lawyers, doctors, um, and but there's always gonna be a need for trades. I mean, look, AI can't swing a hammer.

SPEAKER_00 17:18

Right. And and and I would tell you what, so when you talk to your data center builders, realize that messaging is important and then they haven't done a good job messaging in Michigan and they've caused a lot of controversy.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

Well, that's that's the problem. Like so everybody thinks, you know, the Teamsters Union, Sean O'Brien, and all these other unions want to be impediments to efficiencies. We don't want to be impediments to efficiencies that are gonna help our members make their jobs easier and allow them to get home safer uh and create jobs as a result of them. It's the it's the difference of being an impediment and or being part of the discussion prior to the implementation.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

That's what's important.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

Right. And uh, you know, you talk about members in communities I found traveling the state. Local members want to seat at the table too. Like they just want to know that are their voices being heard, are their local concerns being heard? And and that's where I think, you know, great leadership in in at the local, state, and federal level. When you see politics in America, politics in Massachusetts and Michigan, what is your ideal type of political leader?

SPEAKER_01 18:20

I just I just want I want a political leader to sit down and have an open mind and not be beholden to one party versus the other and not be beholden to a specific issue that's funding their campaign. I want people to sit down and solve the problems rationally and collectively, uh, and to collaborate with people that may not be in the same political party, may not come from the same neighborhood, whatever the case may be. Um, this is this is what troubles me about where we are right now. You know, you've got a lot of talented people in this country that could actually make some really good decisions and move the needle, especially for working people, but instead they get caught up in these political uh the political pawns in the grand scheme of things where you know what, stop arguing on social media, stop arguing on you know uh uh interviews on Fox and CNN and find solutions to problems that are gonna benefit your constituents, the people that you were elected to to represent. Yeah. And that would be my ideal. I mean, look, I'm getting criticized every day because I'm working bipartisan across the aisle, and it's proven to work for the Teamses, right? Right. I'm getting killed, but it's the right thing to do. And I just hate the fact, and it drives me nuts. Um people that are from America that benefit from all the freedoms that we forefathers and forces fought long and hard for, that root against their own country. That's bad. That's tough, man. It's awful. That's tough to say. That's awful.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

And that's where we are right now. I mean, we talk about the same age, 53 years old I am, and and I look at my my life. I've been on the job 34 years this June, and I've always tried to put people's lives back together. Answer 91 calls for service. I mean, your detail here, those guys have been on the job for a long time. And if there's one thing that I can tell you law enforcement does is it goes into chaos and it makes order out of it. It goes into vision, tries to bring people together. That's why I'm such an advocate for unity. Unity doesn't mean uniformity, doesn't mean we've got to agree on everything, but we can walk shoulder to shoulder, not see eye to eye. And when I see the things that you're doing, I see other leaders, and I see myself, I'm like, you got to be able to take the shots from your enemies in the chest and the knives in the back from your friends because our era of leadership is breaking the mold and it's gotta be done. All this we're gonna have this division. We got to come together, we got to put things aside and just do for the good of the people.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

But it's not complicated to get there.

SPEAKER_00 20:56

No, it's you just gotta have thick skin.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

It's simple, blocking tackle, having conversations, having tough conversations. Yeah, you know, taking the criticism, especially if it's warranted, having the argument, having the debate, not let it get personal, and then find a solution to the problem that works for everybody. It's not hard.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Right.

unknown 21:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

I always tell people if marriage was based upon the success of marriage was based upon, you know, i i if arguments were the end all for everything. Yeah, there'd be a hundred percent divorce rate in this country.

unknown 21:28

Right?

SPEAKER_01 21:28

When you think about it. That's right. You know, I mean think about the arguments that are happening in Washington, D.C. I know there's an argument, and you know, people didn't get paid for six weeks because of an argument. Because failing to find a solution to a problem or trying to leverage something that really doesn't, you know, help the people that are working, you know, the TSA folks or anybody else. Right. You know, there's one issue that's so personalized against ICE and everything else, and everybody's entitled to their opinions. But what is the collateral damage of that argument not finding a solution? People didn't get paid for six weeks.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Right. How would you like to?

SPEAKER_01 22:11

That's right. Number two, they are they basically take frustration from everybody that is inconvenienced at an airport. So not only are they responsible for making sure our airports are safe, but they're also, you know, getting criticized, in some cases getting ridiculed, but they do their job, and then you're gonna further insult them and not pay them for five to six weeks and expect them to show up for work and be happy. You know, Logan Airport, I I go and I travel four or five times a uh a week. I I always go out on my way to say I appreciate you. Thank you, right? And you know, some people are very gracious about it. Some people are like, all right, what's who's this guy? Why is he saying this to me? But people say, Why are you taking this so personal? I'm like, take it personal? Yeah. Where did 9-11 start? That's right. Where did 9-11 start? Right? Boston, Logan Airport. I lived it. Wow. I lived it. And we didn't have TSA, we didn't have Homeland Security. People lose sight of the fact on why we have Homeland Security in TSA. It was a result of a terrorist act that happened against this country. Thousands upon thousands of people were victims. But yet we wanna we wanna put these people uh the meat in the sandwich, so to speak, you know?

SPEAKER_00 23:26

Well, I to be fair too, you've always been a supporter of law enforcement. 100%.

SPEAKER_01 23:31

Why are you you know they used to chase me all over the place. I think the federal government tried to indict me once or twice, but no, I think law and order. You know, I I think look, there's checks and balances. Yeah. And and look, I I want to go to bed at night. I want my kids to go to bed at night. I want my family to go to bed at night, knowing that you know, that there's people out there that are risking their lives every night to make sure that you are safe, make sure your family's secure. Um, and it's like anything else. There's always, you know, the three or four percent that give any organization a bad name. But we do need checks and balances. Look, I'm pro-law enforcement. You know, if if if I'm doing something wrong, listen, I any decision I make in my life, good or bad, yeah, it's because of one person, me, nobody else. That's right. So, you know, if I do something wrong and I get in trouble for it, that's on me. That's not on anybody else. Everybody has a job to do. Yeah. Uh no, I'm I'm pro-law enforcement all day long. I want I want safe streets, I want safe neighborhoods, I want, I want children not taking advantage of. I don't want elderly people taking advantage of, and everybody in between. 100%.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

We uh we talked before, you know, you'd heard of Ghost and the things we're doing for human trafficking, and I do a lot of work with Chris Hansen and and the fact that I tell people, you know, we do proactive investigations to keep your family safe at night so you don't have to call 9-1 because something happened. And uh, you know, I've been on the job, as I said, through three decades. I know we're not perfect, we're better today we were yesterday. Uh, but but when you hear about, you know, law enforcement and uh the actual profession and the things that like even what we're doing here locally, when you know there's operators out there, they're being proactive. Uh what does that say to you as a leader that you're not the only one fighting the good fight?

SPEAKER_01 25:09

No, I think you know, when when we talk about first responders and and everybody out there, listen, we all have a certain responsibility, whether you're a law enforcement, whether you're a blue collar worker, union person, we all have a responsibility for our neighborhoods, right? And when you have good communities, you have when you have good jobs, you have good communities, you have good people. Yeah. And that's that's all that's all part of a big plan to have you know checks and balances with law enforcement, respectful law enforcement. You have checks and balances when you have good jobs, you have good communities. You have great education at that point in time. And there's such a divide in this country. And look, there's been some tragedies that happen that you know that that you know need accountability. That's right. Uh I'm not sure, you know, people realize that you know what happens today is gonna have a tremendous impact on what happens tomorrow. And, you know, people people get passionate about issues, but you know, if there's a bad actor, whether he's a teamster, whether he's a cop, whether he's a politician, they gotta go. That's right. They gotta go. Prune the tree. They gotta go.

SPEAKER_00 26:17

Yeah. I uh tell you as we close out, you are uh you're just a solid dude, man, and I appreciate you. You could do a thousand things today, but you came here on the working class podcast. We always end with a couple things of like, you know, the personal things like you did for me. So this is just uh, you know, just kind of like who Sean O'Brien is. Number one, if you could go to a concert or hear anybody live, whether they are still living or dead, who is your number one favorite musician of all time? Snoop Dogg. I love Snoop Dogg.

SPEAKER_01 26:45

Seriously. Seriously. I love that guy. I can't wait to meet him. I've met a million celebrities, right? Oh my gosh. This is one guy I want to meet. You know why I want to meet him? And I tell people this all the time. Like straight up gangster rapper, been with the same woman 35 years, coaches his kids' football teams, or did, and you know, he hangs with Martha Stewart. I mean, talk about talk about a well-rounded individual.

SPEAKER_00 27:09

All right. Fun fact, all right, and I know what David's thinking, our producer. David and I grew up in the same house just 10 years apart. My parents built it, sold it, his parents bought it. Our next door neighbor, his next door neighbor is Frederick out of out of who lives in California. He's Snoop's producer. We're literally gonna send a clip to Frederick to show Snoop Dogg that we need to make a connection with Sean O'Brien and Snoop Dogg. I met him in his studio. He is the good dude. He is, he's hilarious.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

I've never smoked pot in my life, but I'm sure I'm gonna contact him, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:41

He had one hanging out when he walked into his studio. It was crazy. He lives in a in a in a in a block of like in a neighborhood. He he owns a whole block. And he saw these big walls. They told me to take a a uh uh an Uber driver to this location. I get out, I call Fred, I'm like, where am I at? He goes, Oh, you're here. These big gates open up. It looks like an industrial park. He's got his movie studio, his house, he's got it all right.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

What a character, though. You know, he's a character. His snoopisms are pretty funny. Like the one that I love, he's like, What's what's what's crack a lack and mackalacin? You know, stuff like that. I watched him commentate. I think it was Jake Paul fought uh Nate Robinson who played for the Boston Celtics. Uh-huh. Nate was like 5'9. And this is the stuff he was saying, commentating. I was dying laughing. No, there's a lot of things.

SPEAKER_00 28:24

But I just like the fact of how well-rounded he is, you know. Yeah. Uh what's your favorite movie of all time?

SPEAKER_01 28:30

My favorite movie of all time would probably, I got a couple. Uh I loved all the right moves with uh Tom Cruise. Uh loved Convoy. You love Tom Cruise. Oh, I love I love Convoy. Yeah? The movie Convoy was good. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Because it's trucking.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

Yeah, yeah. I love trucks.

SPEAKER_00 28:46

Love it.

SPEAKER_01 28:46

And uh State of Grace was my favorite.

SPEAKER_00 28:49

Is that right? Yeah. Dang. Yeah. Uh what's your favorite food? If you anywhere you're just like, Oh, I get chicken palm wherever I go.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

Chicken palm is out. Chicken palm. That's my favorite. Who makes the best? Well, I mean, does I live in the north end, so you know, if I say one place, then I'm gonna feel like chicken palm no matter where. Yeah. See, when I I eat like in certain restaurants in my neighborhood, yeah, and sometimes I like I feel like I gotta hide because I don't want to want one of them because they're all my friends down there. Right. I don't want one of them to think I'm cheating on them. So I'm like, where would you go to dinner last night? I'm like, why, where were you?

SPEAKER_00 29:22

I love it. And uh you have the stage of the entire country, and you have 30 seconds, and they're all watching you, and they aren't saying a thing, but you get to message them as we close out the show. What message would you give the country from you?

SPEAKER_01 29:39

About the country or about the union. Whatever you want. I think I think as a country, we've got to put the hostility and the anger uh aside, focus on you know, continuing to be the best, most sought-after country in the world. And I would just say we are better than this, and stop rooting against us. Stop rooting against ourselves.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

This is the working class podcast. It's an honor to have you on here, my brother. This is what solidarity is, and I hope that you've learned not only from this message, but you take action and you support your local labor unions, you support your employees, and you just do your part to love this country because we do.