AFL-CIO / LABORERS / TEAMSTERS
Gore Asked to Repudiate Support of Corrupt Unions
On Jan. 6, National Legal &
Policy Center President Peter Flaherty criticized Al Gore for accepting
the endorsement of the "one of country's most corrupt unions" and planning
to appear with a central figure in the
Ron Carey-Teamsters money laundering scandal.
On Jan. 5, Gore accepted the endorsement of the Laborers' Int'l Union of N. Am. He praised LIUNA and said he was honored by the endorsement. The Dep't of Justice has charged that LIUNA is controlled by organized crime. Since 1995, LIUNA has operated under a DOJ agreement. Last month, LIUNA president Arthur A. Coia resigned under pressure, and DOJ took over the Local 210 in Buffalo.
On Jan. 8, Gore appeared at an Iowa ‘post-debate party' with Richard L. Trumka, the AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer. Trumka has taken the Fifth Amendment in the Ron Carey-Teamsters money laundering scandal. Last month, a Carey aide, William W. Hamilton, was convicted of six counts of corruption. Many media sources reported that Trumka may soon be indicted for his central role in the Teamsters scandal.
"LIUNA is arguably the country's most corrupt union. Al Gore should repudiate this endorsement," said NLPC President Peter Flaherty. "Gore should also cancel his appearance with Trumka."
"It is hard to see how Gore makes a break with Clinton scandals by appearing with the likes of Trumka," added Flaherty. "According to court records, Trumka laundered $150,000 to Carey's Teamsters campaign."
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In addition to the unions and organizations covered in this Union Corruption Update, readers can look forward to news and information on other corrupt and abusive unions in future editions.
All back issues of the Union Corruption Update can be viewed at NLPC's website (www.nlpc.org). Also available is a union-by-union and state-by-state index of all Union Corruption Update articles.
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Union Corruption Update is part of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project which is investigating and exposing corruption and extremism in the Teamsters, LIUNA, AFL-CIO and many other union organizations. NLPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and accountability in government through research, education and legal action.
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