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This Just In: Media

The railroading of Ron Carey

By Dan Kennedy

For the battered and dwindling labor movement, the downfall of outspoken, reform-minded Teamsters president Ron Carey on corruption charges last year was a crushing setback that occurred just when it seemed that labor might be getting back on its feet. So the importance of this week's cover story in the Nation, which argues that Carey was done in on the flimsiest of evidence, goes far beyond the unjust treatment of one individual.

The Nation's Washington editor, David Corn, hardly exonerates Carey. Indeed, he criticizes Carey for "failing in his fiduciary obligations" regarding a scheme by his underlings to divert hundreds of thousands of dollars in union funds to his own reelection campaign -- whether Carey knew about the scheme or not. Nor does Corn find fault with a federal overseer's decision to call a new election following Carey's narrow victory over James Hoffa Jr.

But Carey was subsequently barred from running again when another overseer -- formerly a Reagan-appointed federal judge -- ruled that Carey did know about the diversion of funds. And that, Corn says, is simply not supported by the evidence, which consists mainly of skimpy testimony from a former Carey associate facing a lengthy prison term, and from a secretary who apparently changed her story several times.

"The prosecution -- and persecution -- of Ron Carey has been an ugly affair," Corn writes. "This is not to say that an innocent man has been framed. But Carey has been dealt the equivalent of a career death sentence in procedures short on due process and on the basis of underwhelming evidence."

The Teamsters' successful strike against UPS last year seemed to point to a labor movement in resurgence. Not only did the Teamsters win, but by showcasing sympathetic workers worried about losing their jobs to part-timers, they tapped into the economic insecurities of ordinary Americans. That spark of momentum went cold, though, when Carey was apparently exposed as just another corrupt, pinkie-ringed union boss. Indeed, the New York Times reported last Sunday that, despite a renewed emphasis on organizing, union membership continues to fall. Corn's story raises the disturbing possibility that the government played a major role in bringing down a flawed-but-principled labor leader who was a key to the union movement's hopes.

A new election will be held this summer. Hoffa, facing corruption charges of his own, may also be banned. Carey, currently on leave, is fighting to clear his name -- which Corn says is understandable, but which also may delay attempts by fellow reformers to put together a winning slate. Says Corn: "Everything about this election now is so screwed up that it's hard to say what ought to be done."