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| Teamsters President Defends Bush on Social Security |
| Thursday, May 26, 2005 |
Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, breaking his estrangement from the White House, praised President Bush on Tuesday for attempting to fix Social Security and said Democrats were wrong to oppose any discussion until Mr. Bush drops his personal retirement accounts plan.
Mr. Hoffa said preserving Social Security's long-term solvency and pension retirement reform were major concerns in his 1.4-million-member union and that he was willing to work with the administration and the Republican majority in Congress to come up with bipartisan solutions to both issues.
His words of praise for Mr. Bush's efforts were seen as another sharp break with the AFL-CIO and its president, John Sweeney, whose policies and leadership are being challenged by Mr. Hoffa and several other major unions.
"Social Security is a major problem in this country. We have to make sure that it's preserved for those that come after us," Mr. Hoffa said in an interview with Gannett News Service. "I think President Bush should be given credit for the fact that he has initiated a debate regarding what we should do."
The once-cozy relations between the Teamsters union leader and the White House have been virtually nonexistent over the past couple of years, and Mr. Hoffa campaigned against Mr. Bush's re-election. But some White House advisers saw Mr. Hoffa's words of support for the president's efforts as a calculated move to show that the Teamsters are willing to work more closely with the administration and Republicans on issues of mutual interest.
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posted by J.R. @ 3:54:00 PM   |
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