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Teamsters, Obama Deny Quid Pro Quo

Posted May 5, 08 1:37 PM CDT in Politics 

(Newser) – Before winning the Teamsters’ endorsement, Barack Obama said he’d support ending government oversight of the union, an unusual stance for a presidential candidate, reports the Wall Street Journal. An independent board has policed the historically organized-crime-influenced Teamsters since 1992; Bill Clinton, John Kerry, and Al Gore left the matter to the Justice Department.

An Obama spokesman said the board “has run its course” because mob influence has waned. A union spokesman said the endorsement was “predicated in no way, shape or form” on Obama’s private reassurances. A spokesman for Hillary Clinton jumped on the issue, but Politico reported that she told a Teamster audience in 2007 it could be time to “turn the page” on federal oversight. 

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Talking Points Memo, Politico

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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton waits to be introduced at rally in support of the Employees Free Choice Act, June 19, 2007, on Capitol Hill in Washington. At left is Teamsters President James P. Hoffa.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Jim Hoffa, center, president of Teamsters union, leads marchers to the Port of Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Teamsters President James Hoffa addresses the Teamsters annual women's conference.   (AP Photo/The Chronicle, Steve Campbell)
Teamsters President James Hoffa.   (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel)
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, arrives at a construction site.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Bill Clinton • endorsement • John Kerry • Al Gore • blue-collar vote • oversight • Teamsters • James P. Hoffa


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