Angry Hoffa Backers Force Recess at Teamsters Meeting

The Teamsters union was forced to recess its convention and call in police Monday to help clear the hall after angry supporters of James P. Hoffa noisily protested actions by the union leadership and drowned out the proceedings, including an attempted speech by U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).

Teamsters President Ron Carey was forced to shut down the convention for about three hours after the start of the afternoon session when supporters of Hoffa--who is campaigning to oust Carey from the top spot--began shouting to protest the results of a procedural voice vote Carey had ruled on just before the lunch break.

Hoffa’s supporters were angry because they believed Carey was running roughshod over them, declaring the results of close voice votes as victories for his positions and turning off the audience microphones to stifle debate. The union members are voting later this week on several key changes to the union’s constitution proposed by Hoffa supporters, which experts say could determine whether the reforms put in place five years ago will stick.

Carey and Hoffa entered the convention claiming an equal number of supporters, and Monday’s early votes were being looked at as important indicators of the two men’s real strengths.

When Carey tried to introduce Specter, the delegates’ continuous shouting grew to a roar, making it impossible for Specter to speak.

Specter quickly abandoned any effort to deliver his speech. He angrily denounced the delegates. “This is a black mark on the Teamsters and a black mark on the American labor movement,” he shouted into the microphone before he left the podium.

Carey then tried to clear the hall. “I’m asking all the guests to kindly leave the hall,” he said into a microphone. He was met with roaring shouts of “Bulls---, we won’t go!” They refused to leave.

Soon after, the Teamsters called the Philadelphia police to help. The delegates then left without direct police intervention.

The convention confrontation was the latest chapter in the federal government’s 40-year effort to clean up corruption in the Teamsters, perhaps best personified by the mysterious disappearance 21 years ago of Hoffa’s father, the legendary Teamster Jimmy R. Hoffa, who is presumed to have been killed by the Mafia. Five years ago, Carey headed a reform ticket that was swept into office in an election ordered by the government as part of an agreement reached with the Justice Department to settle a racketeering lawsuit.

The outcome of this week’s constitutional convention and the election of national officers in November, which will take place under government supervision, is a test of the government’s ability to take control of a large, corrupt labor union and keep it clean.