The Teamster Scandal Of Th 1990S Essay — страница 3

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Washington seemed to open before Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. Hoffa is convinced that his name, a big union bank account, and friends in the Republican Party will make him a great union president. In the 1970s Hoffa, Jr. entered into a partnership in a high risk loan business with Alan Dorfman, a notorious mobster associate of his father who ended up dead – assassinated – in 1983. Today Hoffa associates with some of the most unsavory characters who remain in the Teamsters union, such as James Santangelo of the California Teamsters who is charged by the International with making himself illegal loans of union funds, and Larry Brennan, president of Michigan Joint Council 43. It was under Brennan’s watch that the Labor Department forced Council 43 to pay back $723,000 in excessive

expenses including $99 000 spent on strip joints and golf courses. Hoffa talks about bringing unity back to the Teamsters, however, Hoffa’s executive board slate is made up of 18 men, all high paid union officials, only two are black, none are Latino. There are no women on the slate, though the Teamsters is estimated to have 200,000 female union members, 15% of the membership. Despite talk of unity, Hoffa s slate represents the white, male bureaucracy of the union. Employers represent another Hoffa constituency. UPS was caught by a court appointed election officer distributing material to workers to help Hoffa’s campaign. A UPS lobbyist in Washington attended Hoffa fund raisers and made contributions (as an independent contractor he was permitted by law to do so). UPS also

helps Hoffa by creating problems for local reformers, making it clear that it would prefer an Old Guard administration. Finally, Hoffa has the backing of one of the most conservative leaders of the Republican Party. Representative Pete Hoekstra, Republican from Michigan, has carried out an investigation of the 1996 Teamster election which has served as a platform for the Hoffa campaign. What would a Hoffa administration be like? The union’s freight division, dominated by Hoffa-supporter Phil Young of Kansas City Local 41, gives an idea. Preston Transportation recently came to the Teamsters pleading economic hardship and asking for “relief,” in the form of lower wages. Young permitted the company a wage concession without going through freight contract procedures.3 Metz At

the end of June, John Metz, the head of Joint Council 13 in St. Louis and the Public Employees Division, also became a candidate for Teamster president. Metz represents a group of older union officials, sometimes called the Traditionalists. They reject reform, but are reluctant to be identified with Hoffa and the Old Guard. The real power behind the Metz slate is John Morris, an influential Teamster leader from Philadelphia. The Reformers call Metz’s group the “Waste Your Vote Slate,” arguing that the real contest is between Hoffa’s Old Guard and Leedham’s Reformers.4 In some parts of the country, Metz has attempted to claim the mantel of Carey. But he seems closer to Hoffa. For example, in June a local election took place in Chicago’s notorious Local 714. For years

714 was dominated by William T. Hogan who has been linked to the Accardo mob and was found guilty by the Teamsters Independent Review Board of nepotism and negotiating bogus contracts. The June election pitted William Hogan’s son Bobby Hogan against a reformer named Mike DiFrancisco. John Metz supported Hogan. Leedham Leedham heads the Warehouse Division which claims 400,000 members (there may only be half that many), but unlike UPS or freight, the warehouse division has little cohesion. While Leedham himself is a very effective campaigner, he does not have much of an organization. TDU provides much of his organized support. Part of Leedham’s strategy is to reach out to union members who have not voted in previous elections. While still campaigning among truck drivers and

dock workers, Leedham will also go after low-paid workers, minority members, and women in areas such as the food processing industry. Both Hoffa and Leedham compete for the votes of members, many of whom have become deeply disillusioned with the political struggle in the union. Hoffa will try to convince workers to trust him to lead them back to a mythical past. Leedham will ask the members to take responsibility for themselves in a democratic union as they go forward into a sometimes frightening future. The vote from the “reformed” Teamsters put Sweeney over the top in the national AFL-CIO’s first contested elections three years ago. The next few months will decide the fate of the Teamsters, and perhaps the fate of the American labor movement for decades. The scandal