Today is the 25th anniversary of the Teamster multiple stabbing of UPS driver Rod Carter. Teamsters Union Bosses primarily called the violent strike to force UPS to continue in a Teamster-run multi-employer Ponzi-scheme pension fund.
Congressional Action Still Missing … pass the Freedom from Union Violence Act!
“My unlocked door was pulled open. Then I was jumped by the six men, who beat me, kicked me, called me ‘nigger’ repeatedly, and stabbed me five times with an ice pick. The assault did not end until the traffic light changed, forcing them to flee. If the traffic light had not changed, I would probably not be here to testify today,” Mr. Carter said.
Then-President Clinton’s U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Alexis Herman refused to step in on the side of law and order.
Edited excerpts from a National Right to Work Committee news release follows:
Rod Carter, a Florida UPS driver beaten and stabbed five times in the back and torso by Teamster militants for the “crime” of working to support his family during a Teamster boss ordered strike, testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. “Whatever you think about the Teamsters, the strike, or about unions in general, violence should not be tolerated,” said Mr. Carter, who was assaulted by union agents, one of whom was wielding an ice pick.
“Unfortunately, I’ve learned the hard way that Violence is still a common strike tactic.” The former University of Miami football star testified that the attack against him appeared to be a premeditated effort to send a message” to UPS workers.
“If I could be intimidated, certainly others who stayed on the job would also be at risk.” Mr. Carter urged the Senate to pass the Freedom from Union Violence Act, which would close a loophole in federal law created by the Supreme Court’s contorted interpretation of the Hobbs Anti-Extortion Act.
The ruling allows union on officials to be shielded from prosecution for unlawful acts of extortionate union violence “used to gain legitimate union objectives.” “[A]s far as I was concerned,” said Mr. Carter, “the Teamsters had the right to strike, and I had the right to work… I never believed that . . . an attempt on my life would be made by those individuals.”
The attack began when Mr. Carter’s truck was stopped at a red light. His assailants, all later identified as striking Teamster militants, left their vehicle and surrounded his truck. “The day I was stabbed will always haunt me and my family,” he added, “I was lucky to get away with my life.”
National Right to Work Committee
LA Times postscript.