Officials with the Teamsters union said yesterday that the union would officially endorse Representative Richard A. Gephardt for the Democratic nomination for president.þþThese officials said members of the union's executive board were scheduled to hold a conference call today in which they would back Mr. Gephardt. A formal announcement is scheduled for Aug. 9 in Detroit.þþThe endorsement from the Teamsters is expected to be a boon to Mr. Gephardt as he seeks to win the endorsement of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. To do that, he will need the support of unions representing two-thirds of the federation's 13 million members.þþÿDick Gephardt has been a friend of the Teamsters from Day 1,ÿ said Bret Caldwell, a spokesman for the Teamsters, which has 1.4 million members. ÿHe has stood with us on every issue of importance from trade to minimum wage to health care.ÿþþFor many political experts, the Teamsters' endorsement was a foregone conclusion because the union's president, James P. Hoffa, has long been close to Mr. Gephardt. They were classmates at the University of Michigan Law School.þþSteven Elmendorf, a senior adviser in the Gephardt campaign, said, ÿWe hope this news is true, and if it is, it's a wonderful thing.ÿþþNine labor unions, most of them small, have backed Mr. Gephardt, giving him more labor support than any other Democratic candidate.þþ
Source: NY Times
