Teamsters Cronyism Corrupts Los Angeles Politics

The Wall Street Journal this week said that the Teamsters' effort to use their political pull to change federal law -- so they can recruit more dues-payers -- is an extremely bad idea. The newspaper's editorial criticized attempts by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Teamsters to get Congress to change federal law that protects the flow of commerce at our nation's ports, with the goal of making it easier to unionize port truck drivers.

"The dispute concerns the Clean Truck Program announced in 2007 by the Port of Los Angeles to ban the dirtiest trucks from carrying port cargo. L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a former union organizer, seized on the program as an opportunity to help his Teamster friends," said The Wall Street Journal. The Mayor and the Teamsters attached "concession requirements" to the Port of Los Angeles Clean Trucks Program that would force all truck drivers at the Port to work for large companies, making it easier to organize the drivers.

While supporting the environmental goals of the program, the American Trucking Associations challenged the concession requirements that would have forced thousands of independent truck owner-operators out of business. The U.S. District Court ruled in April that the concession requirements had nothing to do with clean air and that most of them violated the Constitution's Commerce Clause and the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act. Both pre-empt state and local regulation of interstate trucking rates, routes and services. The District Court issued a preliminary injunction holding most of the concession requirements in abeyance until the case is heard fully and a final decision is issued in December.

"Aware that he will probably lose in court, Mayor Villaraigosa is running to Washington for help," the Journal's editorial said. "The Port of Los Angeles has hired former Majority Leader Dick Gephardt to press House Transportation Chairman James Oberstar to rewrite federal law and give local ports the authority to set more of their own regulations."

"Unionization would give the Teamsters enormous bargaining leverage over work rules and pay, sharply raising the cost of moving goods, as well the power to shut down ports in a strike," said The Wall Street Journal.

"The change in federal law would also mark a step away from the transportation deregulation that began in the 1970s and that has done so much to reduce costs and improve competition. The damage from a patchwork regulatory system would be felt nationwide, and all for the sake of Mr. Villaraigosa's union pals," said The Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, several other ports, including Oakland, Calif., and the Port of New York and New Jersey are also bending to political pressure from the Teamsters and asking Congress to sell out the owner-operators.