Meet Sean M. O’Brien, Labor Co-Chair, 2013 Cushing-Gavin Awards Dinner

Sean M. O’Brien  

Labor Co-Chair, 2013 Cushing-Gavin A,wards Dinner
President / Principal Officer Teamsters Local 25
Eastern Region Vice-President, IBT

Elected President of Teamsters Local 25 in November 2006 at age 34, Sean O’Brien is the youngest Principal Officer in the 113-year history of the organization. As President, Sean represents over 11,000 working men and women throughout Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

A fourth generation Teamster, Sean worked his way up from driving a truck, to shop steward, to international delegate and Business Agent in 2001. Sean was part of the negotiating team that crafted the highly successful 2002 UPS agreement. In 2003, he was appointed as Trustee of Local 25. In 2006 he was elected President and Principal Officer of Local 25, and subsequently appointed to serve on the UPS National Negotiating team for the largest private employer contract on the planet. In 2011, Sean became the youngest executive board member ever elected to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as Eastern Regional Vice President.

Sean leads Local 25’s dynamic community partnerships with Autism Speaks, Toys for Tots, Project Purple and many local charities. Since adopting autism awareness early in his first term, Local 25 has raised more than $1.5-million for autism awareness and research, and worked with House Speaker DeLeo on passing the autism insurance bill requiring insurers to pay for autism-related expenses previously not covered.

Last year, Governor Patrick appointed Sean to a 7-year term on the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) Board as the organized labor representative.

Sean has two sons, Sean, Jr. age 11, and Joseph age 8.