Republican Challenges Union Leader to Physical Fight During Hearing

Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenged Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien to a fight during a hearing on Tuesday.

O'Brien was present to speak to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined by other union leaders, including United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain and Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants. The committee is chaired by Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The Teamsters chief was instrumental in helping tens of thousands of United Parcel Service employees get wage increases and other benefits as part of a wish-list that helped avoid a major, long-term strike in the delivery industry.

Mullin questioned O'Brien during the hearing, saying that his demeanor was less confrontational than the last time the Teamsters representative was before the committee.

Since that meeting, O'Brien had posted five separate times about Mullin on X, formerly Twitter, according to the senator. The last post reportedly referred to Mullin as "a greedy CEO who pretends like he's self-made."

The post also encouraged Mullin, of Oklahoma, to "quit the tough guy act" during Senate hearings, adding, "You know where to find me, any place, anytime, cowboy."

"Sir, this is a time, this is a place," Mullin told O'Brien. "You wanna run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults; we can finish it here."

O'Brien said, "that's fine" and it led to Mullin escalating the situation.

"You wanna do it now?" Mullin said.

"I'd love to do it now," O'Brien replied.

"Stand your butt up then," Mullin said.

"You stand your butt up," O'Brien said.

After Mullin stood up and some gasps filled the room, Sanders immediately told Mullin to sit down, reiterating that he is a U.S. senator.

Following the altercation, Mullin was reportedly asked how the situation escalated to potential physical blows.

"I didn't try to fight anyone, he called me out," Mullin said, according to the Huffington Post's Igor Bobic. "You don't call me out...and not back it up with what you said."

Asked if senators should be held to a higher standard, Mullin responded, "I'm still a guy."

Mullin's feud with O'Brien dates back to earlier this year, when the pair engaged in a heated verbal back-and-forth that included O'Brien taking jabs at Mullin, who owns a plumbing company and additional businesses, during a hearing about the subject of unionization.

O'Brien alleged that Mullin engaged in fraud as part of his business strategy.

"You should get your facts straight because every time you speak in these hearings you're full of s***," O'Brien wrote on X in June. "The more you run your mouth, the more you show the American public what a moron you are."

In July, a tentative deal was reached between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters that affected more than 340,000 of the company's U.S. employees as part of a multi-year contract that, according to some estimates, helped the American economy avoid a $7-billion hit within a 10-day period.

O'Brien at the time was vocal about the federal government not intervening in the collective bargaining process. It ultimately paid off for UPS workers, whose part- and full-time employees received pay bumps and other favorable conditions including air-conditioning in all vehicles and no forced overtime.

"Rank-and-file UPS Teamsters sacrificed everything to get this country through a pandemic and enabled UPS to reap record-setting profits," O'Brien said in July. "Teamster labor moves America. The union went into this fight committed to winning for our members. We demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it."

Newsweek reached out to Mullin, O'Brien, the Teamsters, and Sanders, via email for comment.

Update 11/14/23, 1:43 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.