Teamsters Cheer Trump’s Movie Tariffs, Rip Studios For “Fleeing” America

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The Teamsters are praising Donald Trump’s proposal to levy tariffs on foreign-made films, referring to it as a “resolute measure” aimed at curbing the studios’ excessive tendency to outsource jobs that are typically handled by their union members.

On the following day, statements from Sean O’Brien, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and Lindsay Dougherty, director of the motion picture division and leader of Hollywood Teamsters, were issued. These statements were in response to a post made by Trump on Truth Social, suggesting that he intends to impose a 100% tariff on any movies produced overseas and entering our country.

The union chiefs portrayed Trump’s plan as a pro-worker initiative, aimed at supporting U.S. production laborers whose jobs have been threatened due to rapid overseas outsourcing of entertainment work. As these massive corporations pad their profits by carelessly trimming costs, discarding domestic crews, and taking advantage of foreign tax breaks, they amass wealth while fleeing the country and manipulating the system. Meanwhile, our union members have suffered as a result.

To earn profits from U.S. box offices, studios need to put their money into American labor forces. We appreciate President Trump for courageously advocating for quality union positions at a time when many others have looked away.

The Teamsters’ statement signified the most optimistic union response from Hollywood so far regarding Trump’s proposal, although the specifics of his plan are still under discussion. On Monday, the White House announced that no definite decisions have been made concerning tariffs, as there are uncertainties about how such a tariff would be implemented and which projects it might affect.

More to come.

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2025-05-06 00:24