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| The Teamster Unity Conference. |
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa threw the question out to the assembled Teamsters:
Do we want to endorse Barack Obama for president?The response: A resounding "yes" and a standing ovation.
The General Executive Board had given Hoffa the authority to endorse Obama last night. Several vice presidents spoke from the floor and urged him to make the endorsement as soon as possible.
International Vice President Rome Aloise said:
You've got to vote your pocketbook, you've got to vote the people who won't hurt us....We've got a war like we've never seen...we should endorse Obama, endorse him now, and get off our asses and work for him.International Vice President John Coli:
If we think the war on workers is tough right now, put Mitt Romney in office and you'll see how tough it is...We have to do this, it's more critical than anything we do this fall.Coli received a standing ovation when he said "We need to endorse him now."
International Vice President John Murphy:
If they want a war, let's give him a war.Enthusiasm for Obama was equaled if not exceeded by dislike of Romney, described as a "vulture capitalist." Loud booing was the answer to Hoffa's question, "Does anybody want Mitt Romney." Said Hoffa,
We have leadership. We are the ones who are going to lead this battle to make sure we win this fall.
