[lbo-talk] Obama: let my Teamsters go!

[Doug Henwood]

[from Mike Allen's Politico Playbook]

DRIVING THE CONVERSATION - WSJ A1, 'Obama Says Teamsters Need Less  
Oversight,' By Brody Mullins and Kris Maher: 'Sen. Barack Obama won  
the endorsement of the Teamsters earlier this year after privately  
telling the union he supported ending the strict federal oversight  
imposed to root out corruption, according to officials from the union  
and the Obama campaign. It's an unusual stance for a presidential  
candidate. Policy makers have largely treated monitoring of the  
International Brotherhood of Teamsters as a legal matter left to the  
Justice Department since an independent review board was set up in  
1992 to eliminate mob influence in the union.

'Sen. Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary  
Clinton, has declined to take a stance on Teamsters oversight. During  
his eight years in office, President Bill Clinton took no action to  
end the special board. ... Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor confirmed the  
candidate's position in a statement to The Wall Street Journal,  
saying that Sen. Obama believes that the board 'has run its course,'  
because 'organized crime influence in the union has drastically  
declined.' Mr. Vietor said Sen. Obama took that position last year.