(The Washington Post published the following article by Thomas B. Edsall and Dan Balz on August 1.)
WASHINGTON — The executive board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the nation’s largest unions with 1.3 million members, plans to endorse the presidential bid of Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), according to labor and Democratic sources.
The Teamsters’ endorsement represents a significant boost for Gephardt’s campaign, which has been lagging his rivals’ in fundraising, and will come just before the executive board of the AFL-CIO meets in Chicago to weigh whether it will try to endorse a candidate for the Democratic nomination.
The backing of major industrial unions is crucial to Gephardt, who is depending on strong labor support to carry him to victory in the January Iowa caucuses, the first major battle in the contest for the Democratic nomination, and in other early primary states. The Teamsters’ support could be particularly helpful to Gephardt in Michigan, where Feb. 7 balloting is seen as a crucial test for the candidates.
Gephardt yesterday also picked up the support of two smaller unions — the Seafarers International Union of North America and the American Maritime Officers. That brought to nine the number of internationals that have backed Gephardt, not including the Teamsters.
Because of its size and political muscle — its membership amounts to 10 percent of all the members of AFL-CIO-affiliated unions — the Teamsters brings new credibility to Gephardt’s candidacy. A Gephardt adviser said more endorsements are in the works.
Jim Jordan, campaign manager for Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who has been competing with Gephardt for the backing of several large unions, called the Teamsters’ pending support of Gephardt “a significant endorsement,” but said it was expected.
Asked whether the Teamsters’ endorsement might influence other unions to back Gephardt, Jordan said, “I think the Gephardt people are doing everything in their power to create the illusion of momentum. The overarching question is, are they going to get the two-thirds support from the AFL-CIO” that is required to win the endorsement of organized labor.
Gephardt adviser Steve Elmendorf said that the growing union support shows that Gephardt will be the favored candidate of organized labor, no matter what happens with the AFL-CIO. “Even if we don’t get the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, a significant majority of the AFL-CIO will be supporting Gephardt,” he said.
Before the Teamsters, the biggest union to back Gephardt has been the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which has 730,000 members, including those in Canada.
Gephardt, one of the leading critics in Congress of unrestricted free trade agreements, has a strong base of support among the industrial unions that have been hit hardest by the movement of manufacturing jobs overseas. His biggest hurdle in locking up the AFL-CIO endorsement is winning over the major government and service sector unions that have become increasingly influential within the AFL-CIO.