Teamsters May Not Back Any 2000 Candidate

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa said Thursday that the powerful labor union may not endorse a presidential candidate this year and is still weighing its options.

“Maybe we won’t make an endorsement at all; that’s a possibility. And there’s a possibility we’ll endorse somebody, but we’re just not in a position to make that announcement now,” Hoffa said, answering questions after a speech at the National Press Club.

Last fall, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, along with the United Auto Workers, abstained when the AFL-CIO announced its early endorsement of Vice President Al Gore.

Although the AFL-CIO has promised an all-out fight to help elect Gore, the continuing silence of the Teamsters is conspicuous.

Hoffa said the next step in the Teamsters’ decision-making process will be meetings scheduled later this month between its executive board and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader of the Green Party.

Hoffa has made no secret of his disappointment with Gore for his support of a Clinton administration trade deal with China, which labor unions have strongly opposed.