American Notes Unions

Delegates to the international convention of the powerful Teamsters Union are not used to sitting through scoldings from their guest speakers, especially from one appointed by a President who has twice won their endorsement. But a scolding is precisely what some 2,000 Teamsters representatives got from Labor Secretary William Brock as they gathered in Las Vegas last week. Listing "mobbed-up locals" and "pension-fund abuse" as just two of the union's problems, the Labor Secretary bluntly declared that the Teamsters have "lost a great deal of public trust." Brock, who served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1977 to 1981, went so far as to warn the Teamsters that they have "some of the same problems" that plagued G.O.P. leaders during the historic Watergate crisis. Brock carefully refrained from including on that list of problems the recent indictment on racketeering charges of Teamsters President Jackie Presser, on the ground that his innocence must be presumed until he is found guilty in court. Whether for that well-taken point--or for his sheer guts--the audience awarded the straight- talking Labor Secretary a standing ovation. Then, getting back to business as usual, the Teamsters overwhelmingly re-elected Presser to a five-year term.