Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-09-08
Honest Tom Hickey
Wants to Beet Hoffo
BY CECIL HOLLAND
star star corranpondsnt

star stan Correspondent
NEW YORK, Sept. Ton
The Lower West Side here. hard
BY the waterfront, o fighting
yrishman quietly. but intensely
goes about the greatest scrap
81 his life.
This is 64-year-old Thomas
Lawrence Hickey. known among
New York Transfers as Honest
Tom"
He IS battling for giant stakes
ln the labor mevement--an ef-
fort to defeat Detroit's Jimmy
Hoffa for the presidency Of the
international Teamsters Union
and its is million members.
With the realism Of Q long,
time labor leader, Mr.. Hickey
knows he Is facing an uphill
dght because Of HoEa's wide
support throughout the union.
But he doesn't regard his battle
as hopeless by any means
Clear and Simple
To Mr.. Hickey, the issue Is
clear and simple. It Is q ques-
ton Of whether the Transfers
viii remain in the AFL-CIO or
be kicked out.
The New York teamster, q
vice president of the union, Is,
sure that the federation will
move to GUST the Transfers
should Hoffa be named presi-
dent at the unions convention
starting September 80 in Miami
Beach because Of Hoffa's ties
with New York labor racketeers
and business dealings involving
union funds and companies
having labor contracts with the
Transfers.
He believes this thought viii
Be uppermost in the minds Of
delegates when they start bal
ioting and to him this Is his
main hope Of victory.
II don't see how anybody
except a 100 per cent Hofa
man could cast q vote for
Hotfa," said Mr.. Hickey. 1T
would mean being out Of the
AFL-CIO."
Labor Seminar
Mr.. Hickey met with q group
az newspapermen attending q
labor seminar here In his
modest ofhces In the trucking
district and freely discussed
his campaign and weighed his
chances.
When he testified before the
Senate committee in the recent
Hoifa hearings, Mr.. Hickey in
his conservative dark business
suit might have been q banker
from Wall Street. But in his
natural surroundings he wore
Stacks and q sports shirt
and talked the language Of
truckers and the waterfront.
He expressed his scorn for
John J. O'Rourke. q teamster
rival, as "Hoffa's monkey" He
expressed regret that John
English, secretary-treasurer Of
the international. apparently
has lined up with the Hoffa
forces. He called English "a
Hofa stooge" and said that ct
the recent meeting Of the
Transfers board in Los An
geles, English asked for q
clean bill Of health" for Hoffa.
But he didn't get It," Mr..
Hickey said q bit Savagely.'
Mr.. Hickey and his heuten-
ants dispute Hona's claims
that he already has sewed up
IS per cent Of the 1900 dele
gates who win vote in the con-
vention.
Claims $50 Votes
Mr.. Hickey claims that he
has $50 votes while his sun
shine boys" as he calls them
say he has nearer 500. Mr.
Hickey said he was "very
friendly" with Thomas Hag-
gerty, q Chicago teamster WHIT
IL also In the race. but he indi'
Gated there had been no movt
90 far to try to get togethel
with Mr.. Haggerty on one anti
Hoffa slate.
Many of the labor reporter
from all parts Of the countr!
who attended the Louis STAR
Memorial seminar here thi
week believe that Hickey haI
little chance Of winning.
This same view was ex
pressed by Robert d. Letter
associate professor Of econom