Ron Carey.

• Author: Koeppel, Barbara
• Position: Teamsters president - Interview

Today, when the balance of power between labor and management has never been more skewed, what the International Brotherhood of Teamsters does--as the largest union in the AFL--CIO--echoes far beyond the halls of the white marble palace that sits across

Three years ago, Ron Carey, a UPS local president from Queens, was sworn in as president of the Teamsters. Three years before that, the Justice Department had placed the union into trusteeship for corruption. The fifty-five-year-old former truck driver and long-shot candidate spearheaded a reform movement and won, beating his closest rival by 60,000 votes. In the first six months, he eliminated a special pension plan that gave an extra $5 million to twenty-two international union executives, sold off the two jets and a white stretch limo ordered for his predecessor, Jackie Presser, and set up an ethical-practices committee to investigate corruption and wrongdoing. In fact, while former presidents had pulled multiple salaries totaling up to $750,000, Carey cut his from $225,000 to $150,000. But because he did not win by a majority, and because his opponents were and are still deeply entrenched, Carey has to do battle within as well as outside the union.

Soft-spoken and straightforward, Carey becomes animated when he launches into themes that propel him-fashioning a health-care system that covers everyone, fostering a democratic union, forming coalitions, and above all, finding a powerful voice for labor that can demand a fair shake for working people.

Q: First, let's talk politics. We can't turn on the television or radio or pick up a newspaper without hearing about the evils of welfare, angry white males, Republican landslides, and the new freshman class in Congress. So is anything different now, for labor?

RON CAREY: I don't think the change in Congress matters one bit. This country is pretty much run by corporate interests. But we're going to challenge the Republicans on their Contract with America: About 500 Teamsters came to Washington on January 18, some who'd never been here before, talking to their representatives about jobs and health care. We may back members from either party, or even a third party. What counts is whether they support fairness for working people. Everyone knows the answer is good jobs with decent benefits--and none of that has been on Clinton's agenda. And this Contract with America is another big farce. It's not about working people. It's to take care of corporations.

Q: So how do you reach the people who are taken in by all the rhetoric, who are responding to all the mean-spirited attacks--against immigrants and the poor--that could have terrible effects? How do you reach the majority of the people who didn't vote in November because they were turned off?

Carey: First, you have to look at what happened. People were angry, like about NAFTA: They were angry about Congress not stopping companies from replacing workers who are on strike. They were angry about not getting a good health-care plan. And it wasn't just a matter of Republicans or Democrats. were angry--they're still angry--and this time, the Democrats paid the price. So I don't see that last election as any landslide, like you keep hearing. People were just angry about a President who talked about good jobs and never delivered. Absolutely none. So people just stayed home.

Q: So what's your strategy?

Carey: The fact is, it isn't just to target Washington. Labor has to build coalitions all around the country that can fight for good jobs, health care, fairness on striker replacement, and the...