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Interview With James P. Hoffa

Aired December 10, 2003 - 14:44   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. A lot of jaws dropped when Vice President Al Gore endorsed the Democratic front-runner Howard Dean for president. How important is that sort of backing? Endorsements in general. We're going to ask James P. Hoffa, who as you know is the head of the Teamsters Union, representing 1.7 million members...
JAMES P. HOFFA, PRES., TEAMSTERS UNION: 1.4 million.

O'BRIEN: 1.4 million. Didn't mean to upgrade it too much there.

The Teamsters have thrown their support already behind Dick Gephardt. First of all, welcome. Good to have you here on the program.

HOFFA: Great to be here in Atlanta.

O'BRIEN: We can talk a little bit about why you're here first.

But let's talk about endorsements in general. We focus a lot in the media about where the unions are going where the other candidates, former candidates are headed. Do we overstate their value?

HOFFA: I think you do. I think that Al Gore's endorsement of Howard Dean, it might be a one-day story, but I don't think it really has an effect on the big picture because what's going to win this is an organization in each state.

Dean's got a good organization. Dick Gephardt's got a good organization. That's what's going to win it. And an endorsement by a candidate who isn't going to put money in, who doesn't have an organization to commit, doesn't really change the focus. Although it does give him some headlines and does help a little bit, there's no doubt about that.

O'BRIEN: All right. Now, your union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, has come out in favor of Dick Gephardt, long-time friend of labor. What does that really mean, though, for a candidate like Gephardt? Gephardt still lagging in the polls, is having some problems elsewhere. Does labor really mean a quantitative improvement in the states that matter, Iowa and New Hampshire?

HOFFA: Absolutely. We've got a tremendous organization in Iowa. And we're there with -- we're there with 25 other international unions that are putting people in there. They're coming in from all over. We're putting an organization together to win Iowa for Dick Gephardt. That's important.

And that's what unions do. They can get money, they can get support, they can get manpower. And that's what you need in a race like that because it's a logistics race of organizing people in, getting them to the polls, getting them to the caucuses. And that's what has to be done.

So you're going to have really a battle here. I think it's a two-person race between Dean and Gephardt. And our position is that Gephardt's going to win. We've got a good organization there. I'm going to be there campaigning for him right up to the date it happens on the 17th. And I think he's got a very good chance.

O'BRIEN: But the days of the smoke-filled room, of another generation of union leaders, your father included, Meany, Ruther. Those names. When the unions could really deliver substantive, quantitative support, aren't those gone?

HOFFA: Not really. Because right now all the polls show that unions disproportionately, our workers vote stronger and more than the average public. And they can turn a race, whether it's a congressional race, whether it's a governor's race or a presidential race in Iowa or something like that, because we vote disproportionately to our numbers.

We vote -- if the public votes 50 percent, we vote 70 percent. So we have a bigger impact with our numbers, and the organization and the manpower we can bring to a race.

So all of labor has an impact, and I think that we're going to do a good job.

O'BRIEN: All right. And final thought here. The Teamsters over the years historically have had long-standing ties with the GOP. And you yourself are quoted, I've read quite a few statements here, you like George W. Bush personally, and yet you have some serious problems with his issues. The Teamsters are no longer -- it's no longer a GOP union. Why is that?

HOFFA: Well, because he's veered away from working families, veered away from where we stand about jobs in America, about how do we keep this country strong. He's veered away in trying to cut overtime, taking away overtime from people, taking away jobs out of this country, sending jobs to Mexico and India.

These are jobs that really count. These are issues that count. When he does that, I have to veer away from him. So we've basically parted company over these issues because we think these are core issues that are important to all Americans.

O'BRIEN: And is that fork in the road, down the road toward the democrats, is that irrevocable for the Teamsters, do you think?

HOFFA: Well, I think it's what we have to do this time. We're going to look at who's involved and who's running for president. But right now I think that the road is for working families and Democrats right now.

O'BRIEN: Final thought. What brings you here to Atlanta?

HOFFA: We're here for National Human Rights Day. And a human right is the right to belong to a union. And we're going to have demonstrations about organizing and about the right of people to join unions.

And I think it's -- what better place than Atlanta, Georgia, the crossroads of civil rights and human rights. And we're here for that. We're going to have demonstrations with the mayor and Reverend Lowry and a number of people. We're going to have a great day and a great rally this afternoon. I'm looking forward to it.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, James P. Hoffa, for dropping by. Always nice to see and you hear from you. He of course is the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. And have a good trip.

HOFFA: Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 10, 2003 - 14:44   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. A lot of jaws dropped when Vice President Al Gore endorsed the Democratic front-runner Howard Dean for president. How important is that sort of backing? Endorsements in general. We're going to ask James P. Hoffa, who as you know is the head of the Teamsters Union, representing 1.7 million members...
JAMES P. HOFFA, PRES., TEAMSTERS UNION: 1.4 million.

O'BRIEN: 1.4 million. Didn't mean to upgrade it too much there.

The Teamsters have thrown their support already behind Dick Gephardt. First of all, welcome. Good to have you here on the program.

HOFFA: Great to be here in Atlanta.

O'BRIEN: We can talk a little bit about why you're here first.

But let's talk about endorsements in general. We focus a lot in the media about where the unions are going where the other candidates, former candidates are headed. Do we overstate their value?

HOFFA: I think you do. I think that Al Gore's endorsement of Howard Dean, it might be a one-day story, but I don't think it really has an effect on the big picture because what's going to win this is an organization in each state.

Dean's got a good organization. Dick Gephardt's got a good organization. That's what's going to win it. And an endorsement by a candidate who isn't going to put money in, who doesn't have an organization to commit, doesn't really change the focus. Although it does give him some headlines and does help a little bit, there's no doubt about that.

O'BRIEN: All right. Now, your union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, has come out in favor of Dick Gephardt, long-time friend of labor. What does that really mean, though, for a candidate like Gephardt? Gephardt still lagging in the polls, is having some problems elsewhere. Does labor really mean a quantitative improvement in the states that matter, Iowa and New Hampshire?

HOFFA: Absolutely. We've got a tremendous organization in Iowa. And we're there with -- we're there with 25 other international unions that are putting people in there. They're coming in from all over. We're putting an organization together to win Iowa for Dick Gephardt. That's important.

And that's what unions do. They can get money, they can get support, they can get manpower. And that's what you need in a race like that because it's a logistics race of organizing people in, getting them to the polls, getting them to the caucuses. And that's what has to be done.

So you're going to have really a battle here. I think it's a two-person race between Dean and Gephardt. And our position is that Gephardt's going to win. We've got a good organization there. I'm going to be there campaigning for him right up to the date it happens on the 17th. And I think he's got a very good chance.

O'BRIEN: But the days of the smoke-filled room, of another generation of union leaders, your father included, Meany, Ruther. Those names. When the unions could really deliver substantive, quantitative support, aren't those gone?

HOFFA: Not really. Because right now all the polls show that unions disproportionately, our workers vote stronger and more than the average public. And they can turn a race, whether it's a congressional race, whether it's a governor's race or a presidential race in Iowa or something like that, because we vote disproportionately to our numbers.

We vote -- if the public votes 50 percent, we vote 70 percent. So we have a bigger impact with our numbers, and the organization and the manpower we can bring to a race.

So all of labor has an impact, and I think that we're going to do a good job.

O'BRIEN: All right. And final thought here. The Teamsters over the years historically have had long-standing ties with the GOP. And you yourself are quoted, I've read quite a few statements here, you like George W. Bush personally, and yet you have some serious problems with his issues. The Teamsters are no longer -- it's no longer a GOP union. Why is that?

HOFFA: Well, because he's veered away from working families, veered away from where we stand about jobs in America, about how do we keep this country strong. He's veered away in trying to cut overtime, taking away overtime from people, taking away jobs out of this country, sending jobs to Mexico and India.

These are jobs that really count. These are issues that count. When he does that, I have to veer away from him. So we've basically parted company over these issues because we think these are core issues that are important to all Americans.

O'BRIEN: And is that fork in the road, down the road toward the democrats, is that irrevocable for the Teamsters, do you think?

HOFFA: Well, I think it's what we have to do this time. We're going to look at who's involved and who's running for president. But right now I think that the road is for working families and Democrats right now.

O'BRIEN: Final thought. What brings you here to Atlanta?

HOFFA: We're here for National Human Rights Day. And a human right is the right to belong to a union. And we're going to have demonstrations about organizing and about the right of people to join unions.

And I think it's -- what better place than Atlanta, Georgia, the crossroads of civil rights and human rights. And we're here for that. We're going to have demonstrations with the mayor and Reverend Lowry and a number of people. We're going to have a great day and a great rally this afternoon. I'm looking forward to it.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, James P. Hoffa, for dropping by. Always nice to see and you hear from you. He of course is the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. And have a good trip.

HOFFA: Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com