In the hour-by-hour saga over how the Teamsters’ rerun election will be funded, the latest twist on Jul. 23 came from Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK). Stevens, over Subcommittee Chairman Judd Gregg’s (R-NH) objections, endorsed a Justice Department proposal, called by some “the least lousy choice,” that has the taxpayers paying about half of the $8.6 million estimated rerun costs. This comes after the U.S. District Judge David N. Edelstein’s multiple deadlines for Justice to secure funding have passed, and after the Teamsters, emboldened by a favorable U.S. Appeals Court ruling, have said they will contribute no more than $1 million towards the rerun. If there is no resolution, Edelstein has no choice but to allow the Teamster to conduct an unsupervised election. This entire sad situation is due to Ron Carey’s 1996 campaign’s $538,100 money-laundering schemes. [BNA Daily Labor Report 07/24/98]
Libel Suit Against Teamsters Continues
On Jul. 22, the GA Court of Appeals reinstated libel claims by Overnite Transportation and 3 managers against one of America’s most corrupt unions, Int’l. Brotherhood of Teamsters, as well as Teamsters Local 728, the AFL-CIO and several union bosses. Overturning summary judgment for the union defendants, the appeals court held that a jury could determine if the unions acted with actual malice in publishing fliers that falsely suggested the managers were indicted on criminal charges. The suit was sparked by 3 fliers distributed by Teamsters to several hundred Overnite employees during an Atlanta organizing drive. [BNA Daily Labor Report 07/23/98]