Hoffa: Teamsters Union Is Clean And Government Control Should End

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/4814

Hoffa: Teamsters Union Is Clean And Government Control Should End - 12/07/06

By Doug Cunningham

Teamsters President James Hoffa wants to end the government control of the union in place since 1989 to end mob influence.

: “We're negotiating with the government to try and get rid of the government - with the appropriate safeguards. But so far the government I think has been totally unreasonable with regard to these negotiations. We've been unable to move forward. We don't believe that we should have this burden of millions of dollars for government oversight over this period of time. We're going to continue to negotiate, but I can be very honest with you. We've been unsuccessful because they've been unwilling to move."

Hoffa says the Teamsters union is clean and government control has to end. In 2004 Ed Stier, a former federal prosecutor who headed an internal Teamsters anti-corruption unit, resigned and dissolved the unit alleging continued mob influence in some Teamsters Chicago locals.

: "Those allegations were completely untrue. We hired an independent expert who was one of the top law enforcement people in New York - Ed McDonald. And he came in and did a report and said that those allegations by Ed Stier were completely untrue."

[demosincebirth]

1. Cleaner than it was, but far from clean enogh to lift the "consent decree."