Posted on 12/07/2004 5:07:08 AM PST by billorites
ORGANIZED labor was an undisputed election-day loser, but John Kerry's defeat was a particular blow to Teamsters chief Jim Hoffa. For Hoffa, who worked hard for Kerry after endorsing Richard Gephardt in the primaries, the election was about much more than access or influence. It was about getting the 1.3 million-member Teamsters out from under federal government oversight, in place since 1989.
The stakes for Hoffa were so high because of a burgeoning controversy that exploded with the April 28 resignation of Edwin Stier, the former federal prosecutor hired by the Teamsters to clean up the union. Stier charged that Hoffa had "backed away" and "inexplicably retreated" from anticorruption efforts.
Although the controversy concerns six Teamsters locals in Chicago, it goes to the heart of Hoffa's credibility and reputation. The Teamsters are refusing to release Stier's 303-page report on the six locals. According to the Chicago Tribune, which obtained a copy, the report details "allegations of mob influence, kickback schemes and the secret shifting of union jobs to low-wage, non-union companies." Stier asserted that he encountered "active resistance" from Hoffa's office in investigating these allegations.
Stier did not work for the government. In 1999, the Teamsters established an internal reform program and hired Stier. It was a way of staving off more serious scrutiny, and of showing "good faith" in hopes of eventually escaping government oversight. While it lasted, it was good work for Stier.
The Teamsters spent $15 million on the program, much of which flowed through Stier's law firm. Since he was never really "independent," Stier's resignation is all the more devastating to Hoffa. Ultimate authority for Teamsters oversight resides with something called the Independent Review Board (IRB), established as a result of a 1989 consent decree to settle a Justice Department racketeering lawsuit. Now that the Stier operation has imploded, the time is hardly ripe for Hoffa to argue for the disbanding of the IRB.
Ironically, the Teamsters had made tentative progress toward walking on their own with the current Bush administration and Republicans in Congress. Early on, an eager White House political staff courted Hoffa. There was talk of "working together" on issues like oil drilling in Alaska. But freeing the Teamsters was the real, never-acknowledged agenda. The relationship, however, soured as Hoffa claimed that the policy gap on issues like free trade was just too large to bridge.
During the campaign, Hoffa asserted that the moneyed Kerry is "one of us" because Kerry briefly held a union card in 1962. About Kerry's opposition to opening the Alaska wilderness to oil exploration, Hoffa lamely offered that Kerry had assured him that he would "drill like never before" elsewhere. Hoffa apparently also got over Kerry's support for NAFTA and other trade agreements.
Republicans should feel lucky that the courtship of Hoffa never led to anything more serious. Richard Nixon famously enjoyed the support of Hoffa's still-missing father, and Ronald Reagan won the support of Teamsters president Jackie Presser. It is doubtful, however, whether Republicans have benefited politically from the support of corrupt union bosses. A better approach would be a renewed Justice Department crackdown on mob influence in labor unions. It worked for Robert Kennedy, who became a hero to many in the rank-and-file.
In his resignation letter, Stier stated that he had "substantial reliable information that organized crime again threatens the union." He cited two specific examples of how Hoffa personally impeded his investigations, and in one of the cases, he accused the union of being "insensitive to witnesses' justifiable fears of retaliation." The bad old Teamsters are back. Or maybe they never really went away.
Peter Flaherty is president of the National Legal and Policy Center, a nonpartisan foundation promoting ethics in public life. The group publishes a bi-weekly newsletter titled "Union Corruption Update."
Pat Buchanan thought Jimmy Hoffa was good enough to be asked to be his VP.
I'm glad neither one, Jimmy or Pat, is in power.
I hope the President takes a closer look at his "compassionate conservatism" this term. I would prefer just "conservatism".
Leni
We need strong right to work laws in every state and unions who intimidate need to be aggressively prosecuted under RICO just like any other criminal enterprise.
Fat chance of a RICO indictment against a union which
puts out a fairly large and consostent voting block
every election.
That's a bit like cleaning up a mud puddle, when you're finished there's nothing left
dittos.
if bat puckanan were pres, there'd be a trade war, if not world war.
Unions have been prosecuted before. And the Teamsters' voting block isn't as fat as people think, and it is getting thinner every year.
ORGANIZED labor’s real competition – “Public employee” is a misnomer for federal workers who number in the thousands and are in direct competition with the private citizen – who unwittingly pay their salaries through their federal and state taxes. Question is who is the greater thief, the Mob controlled Unions or the United States Government.A bigger question - is it Constitutional for the federal employee to unionize and in many cases, work against their true employer, the one who pays their salaries, the American Citizen………………??
"the secret shifting of union jobs to low-wage, non-union companies"
The Democrats operate an international labor pool that supplies workers at low wages. The unions get to continue their pay scale on a site development, by allowing cost cuts on some jobs, that is work done by workers from the international labor pool. Limousine Liberals and RINO's, who are the "bi-partisan" Real Estate Investment Trust operators, get site development approval (of all kinds of structures that are not up to code).
The unions, Limousine Liberals, and RINO's, all maintain their income streams and cash flow rates, as long as federal and State administrators keep the borders open to "people who will work," according to the Bush Administration.
See: They just keep coming!!!!! - article from the Indianapolis Star, posted to Free Republic on Feb. 24, 2003.
See: Probe Of Scam At BMV Widens (Indiana) - article by Fred Kelly, from the Indianapolis Star, posted to Free Republic on Dec. 10, 2003.
I mention these two articles, because it was about Indianapolis, that I learned of the underground, international labor pool operated by the Democrats.
Asbestos removal and chemicals cleanup, are typical of the jobs assigned to such foreign workers.
"The group publishes a bi-weekly newsletter titled "Union Corruption Update."
Nonpartisan? Twenty four issues a year. I would say the group is anti-blue collar worker.
However, Hoffa was out of line. The Teamsters have frequently supported Republican presidential candidates.It's time for the feds to dive into the Teamsters again.
...Excellent point. :)
His real mistake was thinking he could deal with the mafia without being compromised by them.
Aren't those federal employees American citizens who are working for the same reason that most people work, self-interest? In fact self-interest is the founding pillar of capitalism. We can't fault self-interest though it is rewarding to meet those who work to improve the lot of others before themself. I think I just discribed the basis of Christanity.
I am sure that the constitution doesn't say anything about unionization. Nor does it say much about most things.We are left at the mercy of the Supreme Court.
Thought you'd enjoy this one. ;)
Not only was he a big loser in the election, but he will be an even bigger loser when Bush orders Beck enforced!
.
.
What's he waiting for?
No public employees should be allowed to unionize. I give you teachers unions as a good example why.
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