Case in point....
Charlie Baker and the Boston Teamsters
The Massachusetts Governor embraces a pariah union.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker delivers his State of the State Address in the House Chamber in Boston, Feb. 23. PHOTO: STEPHAN SAVOIA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
By
The Editorial Board
Feb. 25, 2018 5:40 p.m. ET
35 COMMENTS
Teamsters Local 25 endorsed Charlie Baker last week, the first time in two decades the union has backed a Republican candidate for Massachusetts Governor. More surprising, Mr. Baker enthusiastically accepted despite the Teamsters’ terrible reputation in Boston. “I am proud to have the Teamsters Local 25’s endorsement for re-election and look forward to our ongoing work with their leaders and members” on labor, infrastructure and economic issues, Mr. Baker said.
Bad call. Last summer Local 25 members escaped extortion convictions because of a legal loophole that permits otherwise criminal behavior if it’s done while carrying out “legitimate union business.” Host Padma Lakshmi of the “Top Chef” cable TV show described in court how one Teamster showed up on her set in 2014 and threatened to “smash your pretty little face.”
That member, identified by the Boston Globe as John Fidler, was welcomed back to Local 25 after stints in prison. He had stabbed several people in 1985, supplied an M-1 infantry rifle, a 9mm handgun and other weapons for a crew that planned to rob an armored car in 1998, and sold cocaine at a work site in 2004.
Other Teamsters were caught on camera harassing “Top Chef” staffers with racist and sexist epithets, and a truck driver said he’d received a bomb threat. Local 25’s behavior was so egregious that Maura Healey, a Democrat who was then running successfully to become the state’s attorney general, returned the union’s campaign contributions.
President Trump has won over many union workers, but unions like Teamsters Local 25 are dangerous to embrace. The “Top Chef” incident was no outlier, and the union deserves pariah status for its long history of extortion and racketeering.
Mr. Baker’s enthusiasm is all the more baffling given that he doesn’t need Local 25’s support as he runs for re-election. According to a Morning Consult poll this month, Mr. Baker has a 69% approval rating and is the most popular incumbent Governor running this year. A chummy relationship with the Boston Teamsters won't help.
Charlie Baker and the Boston Teamsters
The Massachusetts Governor embraces a pariah union.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker delivers his State of the State Address in the House Chamber in Boston, Feb. 23. PHOTO: STEPHAN SAVOIA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
By
The Editorial Board
Feb. 25, 2018 5:40 p.m. ET
35 COMMENTS
Teamsters Local 25 endorsed Charlie Baker last week, the first time in two decades the union has backed a Republican candidate for Massachusetts Governor. More surprising, Mr. Baker enthusiastically accepted despite the Teamsters’ terrible reputation in Boston. “I am proud to have the Teamsters Local 25’s endorsement for re-election and look forward to our ongoing work with their leaders and members” on labor, infrastructure and economic issues, Mr. Baker said.
Bad call. Last summer Local 25 members escaped extortion convictions because of a legal loophole that permits otherwise criminal behavior if it’s done while carrying out “legitimate union business.” Host Padma Lakshmi of the “Top Chef” cable TV show described in court how one Teamster showed up on her set in 2014 and threatened to “smash your pretty little face.”
That member, identified by the Boston Globe as John Fidler, was welcomed back to Local 25 after stints in prison. He had stabbed several people in 1985, supplied an M-1 infantry rifle, a 9mm handgun and other weapons for a crew that planned to rob an armored car in 1998, and sold cocaine at a work site in 2004.
Other Teamsters were caught on camera harassing “Top Chef” staffers with racist and sexist epithets, and a truck driver said he’d received a bomb threat. Local 25’s behavior was so egregious that Maura Healey, a Democrat who was then running successfully to become the state’s attorney general, returned the union’s campaign contributions.
President Trump has won over many union workers, but unions like Teamsters Local 25 are dangerous to embrace. The “Top Chef” incident was no outlier, and the union deserves pariah status for its long history of extortion and racketeering.
Mr. Baker’s enthusiasm is all the more baffling given that he doesn’t need Local 25’s support as he runs for re-election. According to a Morning Consult poll this month, Mr. Baker has a 69% approval rating and is the most popular incumbent Governor running this year. A chummy relationship with the Boston Teamsters won't help.
