Hoffa Testifies Before Homeland Security Committee, Urges Senate to Protect U.S. Ports, Drivers

International Brotherhood of Teamsters
General President James P. Hoffa testified today before the United States
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and urged
Senators to improve security at America's ports.
"Let me start by telling you what the Teamsters believe," Hoffa stated.
"We believe that American ports should be run by Americans. We believe port
security should be managed by Americans. We believe, as it stands now,
America's ports are dangerously vulnerable. And we believe something can and
should be done about it."
The Teamsters Union has led efforts against the Bush administration's
approval of the sale of U.S. terminal operations to Dubai Ports World, a
company wholly owned by the United Arab Emirates government, and the no-bid
contract awarded to Hutchison Whamboa, a company widely believed to be a front
for the Chinese People's Liberation Army, to inspect cargo containers in the
Bahamas. In fact, three years ago the Bush administration previously rejected,
on national security grounds, a proposal by a subsidiary of Hutchison Whamboa
to purchase a part of Global Crossing.
"We're playing Russian roulette with our nation's security," Hoffa said.
"But no matter how high we build fences or how many Coast Guard cutters patrol
the harbors, our ports remain vulnerable when the gates are left wide open.
And that is the situation at U.S. ports today."
With more than 100,000 port truck drivers currently classified as
independent contractors and operating under the radar, Hoffa urged senators to
address this potential threat to national security.
"Drivers operating illegally in our ports, or operating in or near
bankruptcy, are vulnerable to blackmail and bribery. They are susceptible,
knowingly or not, to people who would harm our country. They are in a position
to smuggle contraband -- or God forbid, a weapon of mass destruction," Hoffa
said. "The system we have now is bad for our ports and bad for America. Once
Congress forces the industry to clean up its act, you will have a workforce
that can pass background checks. A workforce that will be trained, efficient
and productive. A workforce that will be the eyes and ears of our ports -- one
that will make America more secure."