Teamsters president-elect Ron Carey is pledging to make good on his clean-house campaign, saying the "party's over" for those who think organized crime is still in charge of the nation's largest union.
"I'm fed up with being embarrassed about the Teamsters Union," he said today on ABC's Good Morning America.Carey described himself as a "grassroots guy" who will include the membership in more decisionmaking.
"Their interests come first," said Carey. He said any corruption in the union will be handled through a new ethics committee.
"Where there are cases of wrongdoing, out they'll go," he said.
Carey got 54 percent of the vote in the Teamsters' first rank-and-file election of their president. He called it "a David and Goliath classic story."
He also said he would break with Teamsters tradition and endorse a Democrat for the U.S. presidency.