Teamsters to Endorse Gephardt for President
Thursday, July 31, 2003
WASHINGTON — The Teamsters (search) union plans to endorse Democrat Dick Gephardt (search) for president, union officials say, giving the Missouri congressman a crucial political boost at a time when his weak fund raising has prompted questions about the viability of his candidacy.
The coveted endorsement by the 1.4 million-member union is expected to follow a Friday conference call vote of 22 Teamsters vice presidents, sources in the union said Thursday. It would be the most high-profile endorsement so far in the race among nine Democrats to challenge President Bush in 2004.
"There are unions and there are unions with capital letters," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. The Teamsters union "is a capital letter union. They back their designated candidates with lots of money and volunteers."
Word of the Teamsters' plans came after Gephardt had spoken with reporters about endorsements from maritime unions. "What unions give you is both resources and people -- ground troops" to help the campaign organize in states, said Gephardt, who has staked his campaign on the support of organized labor.
Endorsement events already are scheduled for Aug. 9 in Des Moines, Iowa, and Manchester, N.H., -- early primary states -- and in Detroit, with Teamsters President James P. Hoffa (search) and Gephardt, The Associated Press has learned.
Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell said the union's executive board was scheduled to talk by phone Friday "to discuss a potential Teamsters endorsement." But he refused to confirm that a Gephardt endorsement was expected, and said the union would make no announcement afterward.
That's because Teamsters officials want to honor a request by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney for affiliate unions to hold their endorsements until after next week's meeting in Chicago, the Teamsters sources said.
The Gephardt endorsement is a slap to the Bush White House, which has tried to chip away at organized labor's solid support for the Democratic Party. Hoffa even secured a special seat at President Bush's first State of the Union speech to Congress.
The Teamsters were Bush's obvious target, with the union's past endorsements of his father and Republican presidents Reagan and Nixon.
For Gephardt, the endorsement was widely expected -- but just not so early.
Teamsters officials haven't been shy about their affection for Gephardt, whose father, a milk truck driver, was a member -- a point the candidate constantly highlights.
"He's certainly the best candidate for working families and has stood strong with the Teamsters throughout his entire career," Caldwell said.
Politically, it couldn't come at a better time for the former House minority leader.
His campaign is plagued by concerns about his ability to excite Democratic voters -- a factor highlighted in his recent, poor showing in the money race.
Gephardt fell far short of his goal, collecting just $3.87 million in the second quarter and lagging behind some Democrats who have been considered much weaker contenders.
Another bane for Gephardt is that he has been down this road before.
In the 1988 presidential race, he drew early attention with his focus on trade and the poor economy, and did well in Iowa. But then he ran out of money and fizzled.
The Teamsters' backing will give Gephardt a bounce heading into Chicago next week for an AFL-CIO-sponsored forum.
"Gephardt needs all the help he can get," Sabato said. "He's still fighting the image of being yesterday's man."
Union leaders also will be discussing a labor-wide endorsement, which would bring with it more than 13 million foot soldiers working on a candidate's behalf for next year's primary election.
Though it's still very early, no candidate has come close to Gephardt's labor support. He added two maritime unions Thursday to his list of mostly small union endorsements that comprise more than 1.4 million members total.
Gephardt's longtime allegiance and his unwavering opposition in congressional battles over free-trade agreements that decimated many unions, including the Teamsters, helped him secure the endorsement, Teamsters officials said.
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