Democrats Oppose Bid to Seize Teamsters

All 27 Democrats in California’s congressional delegation joined Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) Tuesday in protesting the Justice Department’s effort to place the Teamsters Union under court trusteeship to counter alleged corruption and mob ties.

In a letter to Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III, the California officeholders charged that such an exercise of the government’s “raw power” threatens the survival of organized labor and the independence of other private political and social organizations.

“No private institution in our society can survive if incidents of misconduct on the part of its individual members and officials are to be made the occasion for governmental control over the entire organization,” the letter said.

“The laws of our nation are sufficient to deal with incidents of criminal conduct on an individual basis, without attempting to subject the institution itself to rule by government fiat,” the Californians said. Their letter urged the department to reconsider the lawsuit it plans to file.

National GOP Affiliation

Nationally, the Teamsters have long allied themselves with the Republican Party, and the Democrats’ protest represented a big step in the union’s effort to head off the Justice Department’s expected move against it under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

The Teamsters previously picked up support from the AFL-CIO, whose executive committee voted to readmit the union after its expulsion for corruption 30 years ago, and from some presidential candidates of both parties. Among its Democratic supporters are Illinois Sen. Paul Simon and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Republican backers include New York Rep. Jack Kemp and former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr.

A union official at Teamster headquarters here hailed the California letter as “the opening gun” of a bid for similar support from other congressional delegations.

The mounting support for the Teamsters has stunned some Justice Department officials, a source close to the department’s efforts said Tuesday, but the lawsuit is still being prepared for filing early next year in New York.

Mafia Trial Ongoing

The source indicated that filing of the suit, which will be the first action of its kind against leadership of an entire international union, must await completion of the federal trial of Anthony (Fat Tony) Salerno, reputed head of the Genovese crime family, and 10 reputed Mafia associates. They are charged with business and union corruption in which the Teamsters organization allegedly figures prominently. The case is expected to go to the jury in January.

The official at Teamsters headquarters, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the California letter resulted largely from Teamsters local leaders’ personal visits to the congressmen, both in California and in Washington. The official also cited the efforts of Rep. Don Edwards (D-San Jose), chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on constitutional rights, who sent a personal note to his Democratic colleagues urging them to sign the protest letter.

While the Teamsters’ was the only major labor organization to support President Reagan in the 1980 and 1984 election campaigns, union officials cited longstanding, close ties between the Teamsters and many California Democratic congressmen who have benefited from volunteer work done by union members and their families.

Political Funds Applied

In announcing a nationwide campaign against the planned lawsuit two months ago, Teamsters President Jackie Presser told 4,000 Teamsters officers at a meeting in Cincinnati that the union’s multimillion-dollar political war chest, known as DRIVE, would support the lobbying effort.

Edwards said in an interview that “unlike the East Coast, not many Teamster officials in the West have bad reputations.” As to campaign contributions, Edwards said he has received “modest contributions from time to time” from the Teamsters, and had the support of labor in general.