Labor Secretary Sees Watergate Parallel : Brock Urges Teamsters to Clean House

Addressing the national convention of the Teamsters Union just four days after the indictment of union president Jackie Presser, Labor Secretary William E. Brock III on Monday urged the delegates to re-examine their union and “clean house” if they find corruption.

Brock’s speech was carefully couched, and he prefaced his remarks with a reminder that “every person is and must be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court.” Nonetheless, he made references to links between the Teamsters and organized crime.

“As secretary of Labor, it isn’t easy to hear about mobbed-up locals or pension fund abuse--misuse of members’ blood and sweat,” a clear reference to a recent report of the President’s Organized Crime Commission that concluded that the union has close ties to organized crime. “It’s impossible for me to ignore that. It is necessary for you to address it,” Brock said.

He told the delegates that the Teamsters currently face “some of the same problems” the Republican Party confronted after the Watergate scandal that forced the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon in 1974.

“You can’t ignore them,” said Brock, a former U.S. senator from Tennessee who was chairman of the Republican Party from 1977 to 1981 and was given credit for helping revive the party after Watergate.

When Brock finished his speech, Presser shook his hand and the 2,000 delegates gave the labor secretary a standing ovation.

Less than an hour later, Presser also received a standing ovation--his second of the day--when he called the federal racketeering and embezzlement charges filed against him last week “totally without merit.”

“I deny any guilt respecting any crime. I am confident I will be exonerated,” he said.

Brock was scheduled to speak here before Presser’s indictment Friday and he told the delegates he resisted suggestions that he cancel his appearance after the charges were filed.

“To have accepted such advice would have implied a contempt for one fundamental principle which is the very essence of our constitutional system of jurisprudence: that every person is and must be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court,” he said.

After a standing ovation, he added, “Having said that does not make my talk today any easier. Today is a day for honest communication between us about some problems in this union.”

Rhetorical Questions

Brock framed much of his implied criticism as rhetorical questions:

“Are there institutional processes which make it easy for some who want to exploit members to do so? If there are, change them.

“Are there locals where people are doing just that? Where crime interests reign and members’ interests are ignored or trampled? If there are such locals, put them in trusteeship.

“Are there areas where good people have been silent too long--where it’s just plain time to clean house? If so do it.”

Brock said the overwhelming majority of the union’s members “are good, decent, honorable people. Be sure they run every local, that their issues are your agenda, that their values are reflected in your acts.”

Three Predecessors Convicted

Presser is the fourth of the last five Teamsters presidents to be indicted by the federal government. Three of his predecessors--Dave Beck, Jimmy Hoffa and Roy Williams--were convicted of various crimes and served time in prison.

Additionally, more than 10 local Teamster officials have been convicted of crimes in the last decade, according to Justice Department records.

Brock’s speech was surprising. He frequently addresses major labor unions, but rarely raises controversial subjects.

Brock declined to answer any questions after his speech and immediately left to catch a plane to Fremont, Calif., for an appearance at an auto plant jointly owned by General Motors and Toyota.

Several delegates said they liked Brock’s speech but would not comment on whether they thought it would have any immediate effect on the scandal-ridden union.

For example, John Allen, a delegate from Atlanta, said the speech was great but declined to characterize it as critical of the union.

A security guard attempted to prevent reporters from interviewing delegates in the hallway outside the convention floor after Brock’s speech.

Presser told the convention that his indictment “proves that the government was out to get me at any cost.” He suggested that he was being prosecuted because “the Teamsters are viewed as too powerful and too effective.”

The 59-year-old union leader said the timing of the indictment on the eve of the convention was “designed to embarrass the working men and women of our great union.”

Standing Ovation

Presser asserted that “selected elements on the media” and some of his political enemies played a role in pressuring the Justice Department to indict him. If convicted of all the counts against him, Presser could be sentenced to 51 years in prison.

Presser received a standing ovation, as he had earlier in the day when he was first introduced to the delegates by Arnie Weinmeister, president of the Western Conference of Teamsters.

Just before Brock spoke, Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., chairman of the Republic National Committee, told the delegates “the Teamsters have a solid relationship with the Reagan Administration. The 1.6-million-member Teamsters Union was the only major labor organization to endorse Ronald Reagan for President in 1980 and 1984.

As delegates entered the hall Monday morning, they walked by a small demonstration mounted by the Teamsters for a Democratic Union, a dissident group. The organization has repeatedly criticized the way the union has operated and is attempting to change the method by which delegates to the convention are selected.

The Labor Department currently is conducting a study of the union’s voting procedures.