Congratulations

On the surface, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters seemed to have acquired a new respectability. It had shed its convicted longtime president Jimmy Hoffa and elected a colorless and apparently untroublesome union veteran, Frank E. Fitzsimmons, to replace him. And there was Nixon Administration Labor Secretary James Hodgson on hand at the Teamsters' convention in Miami Beach to congratulate the new leader. Nixon sent a warm letter of "appreciation for the contributions" the union had made "to our way of life."

But the union also had just raised its dues, and had given Fitzsimmons complete authority to dispense fat Teamster funds for political campaigns (in addition to giving him a $25,000 raise to $125,000 a year--biggest salary of any U.S. union official). Moreover, Fitzsimmons was a loyal Hoffa lieutenant who had been serving as the acting Teamster chief at Hoffa's direction. And suddenly the U.S. Board of Parole scheduled an unusually early rehearing on whether Hoffa should be released from prison. If he is and the Teamsters support Nixon for reelection, many would wonder whether a deal had been made.

While in Miami Beach the union re-elected two vice presidents with unsavory backgrounds. One had pleaded guilty to taking illegal payments from employers; the other is awaiting a federal trial on a counterfeiting charge.

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