Hoffa: Teamsters and feds negotiating

DETROIT, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Talks between the Teamsters Union and the federal government may soon result in an end to 14 years of government supervision of the union.

Teamsters President James Hoffa told The Detroit News: "It's not done yet, but we have a proposal from the government. We are looking forward to negotiating in the near future a final exit of the government from Teamsters affairs."

Hoffa, who said he hopes negotiations will conclude by December, told the newspaper an end to government supervision would probably involve the union's appointment of an internal ethics officer to make certain organized crime doesn't regain a foothold in the union.

The federal government began controlling the Teamsters' operations in 1989, when the union signed a consent decree to settle a civil racketeering suit. Rudolph Giuliani, then U.S. Attorney in New York, had filed the suit alleging organized crime officials dominated the union.

Hoffa, who has vowed to end government oversight of his union, was elected president in a special run-off election in 1998. He was elected to a full, five-year term in 2001.