Teamsters President Hoffa and Senator Barack Obama

Teamsters endorse Obama for president for his strong stands on labor issues

In February, the Teamsters weighed in on the Presidential Primary -- and threw their support to Senator Barack Obama.

The endorsement decision follows a meeting in Austin, Texas, between General President Hoffa and Obama, and completes a months long process that included polling of Teamster members, surveys of local union and joint council leaders and deliberations by the union's democratically-elected General Executive Board.

"Senator Obama understands the challenges working people face every day," Hoffa said. "He is the candidate in the best position to lead our movement to restore the American dream for working people in this country. Senator Obama will fight for better wages, real health care reform, stronger retirement security, fair trade and an end to the outsourcing of good jobs. He understands the importance of giving workers a voice at work and will fight for strong unions to help rebuild America's middle class."

The Teamsters recently established a "Teamsters for Obama" website: www.teamstersforobama.org. Due to federal election laws, only members may enter the site. To find your password, go to the contents page of your April Teamster magazine.